Chapter 14 #2
“No, it wasn’t. But I made it very obvious where I stood on what I want.” How could Darcy have possibly have been left wondering?! “How could I have made it clearer? I took off my shirt. Told you to look at me. Told you to kiss me.”
Come on.
She ran her eyes over Darcy, hungry for the very sight of her. The way her curves filled out that jumpsuit, revealing her shoulders and the upper part of her back and her sides, but leaving everything else tantalizingly covered…
How was it that Darcy was so slow on the uptake? Juliet had spelled it out for her the last time they were together!
“I. Want. You,” she stated, punctuating each word with a step closer, entering back into Darcy’s orbit.
She’d had enough, frankly, of the conversation. She hadn’t anticipated this; she’d been ready to tear Darcy’s clothes off, and it was a little galling to her that Darcy hadn’t felt the same.
“You literally told me at our lunch a few weeks ago that you’d stab me in the back to get ahead. And now…” Darcy trailed off, shaking her head slightly.
Darcy’s agitation seemed to be waning, replaced with wariness.
She did want Juliet. She could see it.
But she could also see that Darcy was doing everything she could to stay rational. Annoying, because what Juliet wanted right now was the opposite.
Well, in her mind, this situation was the most rational thing: they were gay. They were both publicly closeted. They were attracted to one another. They were fixated on one another. They poured so much energy into the other.
But she wanted irrational, driven-out-of-your-mind sex.
“And I’m just supposed to believe that this–” Darcy glanced down at Juliet’s lips, licking her own in a response that Juliet knew was subconscious. It fanned at the flame that hadn’t come close to completely dying down inside of her. “– is totally independent from that?”
“Yes,” she answered, easily. Again, this seemed so fucking obvious to her. “Because things are different, now.”
“Things are different because I’m a lesbian? You don’t want to stab me in the back because of that?”
For a few seconds, Juliet could only stare at her. How could Darcy say that like it was so simple?
Apparently, she’d have to spell it out: “Things are different now because now, I know we’re in the same boat.”
Darcy’s rise to the top and her desire to try to stay there resonated with her, deeply.
And there was an added layer to it, whether Darcy had seriously thought about it or not.
Juliet understood her now. Because she understood those nerves and the doubts that came along with just being who they were.
Wanting to be at the top but also knowing that you very well might not be there if people knew the whole of who you were was a very unique feeling, one Juliet knew well. One that she could recognize in Darcy, now.
It changed, fundamentally, how she experienced Darcy.
“Because… you are also a lesbian,” Darcy said, slowly, her eyes searching Juliet’s.
“Yes, because I’m a lesbian,” she confirmed.
Her stomach still did that twinge inside whenever she came out to someone. But Darcy had come out first, which was exactly how Juliet liked it.
“And you want me,” Darcy continued to speak in that same tone, the one that told Juliet that Darcy was struggling to connect all of her wires. “Even though you started out our relationship by insulting me.”
“Get with the program, Darcy, my god.” She reached up and carded a hand through her hair, vexed by Darcy’s need to say everything out loud.
How did she not realize that there was an etiquette here?
A silent etiquette. “A part of my irritation was how attracted I am to you. It’s far from the only reason, but it was certainly a part of it.
Now, though, it’s mutual. We want each other.
At the very least, I want you,” she pronounced, leaving Darcy the opportunity to admit her own attraction or try to walk it back.
And really, everything hinged on whatever came out of Darcy’s mouth next. Juliet stared at that mouth – that fucking mouth that had been at the center of so many of her desires – waiting for the words.
“I want you, too,” Darcy admitted in a whisper that echoed through Juliet’s body.
She didn’t know if it was the tone or the words themselves or the combination, but – yeah, it worked for her.
Darcy still sounded like she was reckoning with that, her voice so… raw. Like she was wondering what it all meant.
But, again, this was Darcy’s first time. Not having sex, but having sex while in this new position in life. Juliet would be thrilled to shepherd her into it.
In fact, after these last several months, after this energy that had built between them… if it wasn’t Juliet, she’d go a little crazy.
“Great. Now that that is out of the way…” As she trailed off, she slowly brought her hands up to the lapels of the short, black silk robe she was wearing.
Honestly, she’d been a little put out that Darcy hadn’t really commented on it.
But, as she was getting to know Darcy a bit more, she could see that Darcy was someone who really fixated on something when she dug her teeth into it.
She wanted to discuss and equivocate and reach common ground, rather than superficially moving on.
Good to know, Juliet supposed. If this were to ever happen again, that was. And, given her life, she was never really certain if a hook up would ever continue more than once.
Now, though, she could see the focus snap through Darcy. She saw the way those green eyes dialed in on her hands, and she felt the thrill rush through her.
“You know, Darcy, the thing is that I realized at the studio that–” She brought her thumb and index finger to the tip of the sash, and tugged it with just enough pressure that the knot she’d tied slid apart. “– I really like having your attention.”
“You needed that moment at the studio to realize that?” Darcy breathed back, her gaze darting up to Juliet’s with a teasing glint.
She narrowed her eyes and let her robe fall open.
“I also realized that you seemed a little fixated on my wearing a nice bra. So, I figured: what better way to start this off by giving you something you seem to like?”
With that, she dropped her hands to her hips, putting herself on display.
She’d beelined home after Shelby’s to get ready, having assumed Darcy would be here fairly quickly.
Juliet had no intention of admitting that she’d ordered this lingerie set from Worthy’s new line specifically for this moment.
Dark red transparent lace in thin, delicate – skimpy, even – pieces were all that adorned her body, as she dropped her robe to her floor.
And she felt very satisfied with the way Darcy’s lips parted, the color rising in her cheeks, as her eyes seemed glued to Juliet’s body.
“You’ve just been – this is how you go about starting a hookup?” Darcy asked, her voice as incredulous as it was low and raspy.
“What, do you require more finesse? Is that how you usually get into this position with a woman?” Juliet tilted her head up, both challenging and damningly curious.
She would like to know, really, how women had gone about picking Darcy up, before she’d become Darcy Kincaid.
“Finesse?” Darcy echoed, rolling her eyes as she tracked them back up to meet Juliet’s. “Not exactly. But it usually goes a little differently than a woman stripping down in front of me, wearing…”
“I know what I want. I know how I want it. And I don’t feel the need to dress it up. What, do you need to be romanced, Darcy? I didn’t realize you were so… delicate,” she taunted, her lips tugging into a small smile.
“Fuck you,” Darcy breathed back, but there was no vitriol behind it at all.
She knew, she knew as sure as the brain could recall a favorite tune, that Darcy felt the same exact desire she did right now. Staring at one another, squaring off, knowing this was going to happen. She knew Darcy was running on the same energy that fueled Juliet.
“I’ve been trying to get you to do that all night,” she shot back, holding her ground. Challenging Darcy – make the move.
Because Juliet knew precisely how this was going to go: Darcy would be coming to her, closing the gap between them. Juliet had done enough of the work so far to make this happen.
“I’m not delicate,” Darcy denied. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Then don’t make it so easy for me.”
“You just love to start something with me,” Darcy shot back, taking a step closer.
Yes.
“You’ve made it easy for me to start something with you from day one,” Juliet pointed out, running her eyes over Darcy’s face, wanting to see every micro-expression when she murmured, “Because you’re so… reactive.”
Yeah, the way Darcy’s eyes flashed at her – like she knew she was being called out but she fucking liked it – really landed inside of Juliet, making her stomach dip low, heat coiling already.
“And you aren’t?” Darcy was so close to her now, her hot breath washing over Juliet’s lips as she spoke.
She shivered at the feeling, tilting her head back, lightheaded with the rush of blood thrumming through her. “Proving my point.”
Darcy’s eyes narrowed, her breath coming faster, worked up. Juliet felt it, the same feeling pulsing through her, like they were feeding off of one another.
She kept her touch light as she reached up, tracing her fingertips over the soft skin of Darcy’s collarbone that was exposed by the halter top of her jumpsuit. It was the first time she was touching Darcy – really touching her – and Juliet swore she could feel herself buzzing to life.
Her fingertips even felt different.
And then she saw the way Darcy shivered, the little goosebumps that rose on her arms. Heady satisfaction slid through her at the visual evidence that Darcy was just as affected as she was, even if she was determined to keep talking.