Chapter 15 #2
“Fish finger sandwiches.” Mattie laughed.
“They were my childhood comfort food, and I haven’t grown out of it.
I probably drink more alcohol than is good for me, so we’ve maybe got that in common.
” She didn’t add that she had a habit of ignoring her body’s distress signals until it was too late and things got messy.
This was a fun fling, not a deep and meaningful long-term relationship where she bared her soul.
After dinner, Mattie took Nell down to the cove, and they strolled through the shallow water to the end of the bay.
It wasn’t far, but they were in no hurry.
With her sliders dangling from one hand, Mattie gestured at the view with the other.
“I’m always reminded of a chameleon when I watch the sea.
These waves are barely ripples, and the sea is the rich colour of the sunset.
On another day, it’ll be metallic silver and frothing like it’s defending itself from a vicious predator. ”
“You’re such a writer at heart.” Nell smiled. “A chameleon is a good analogy though, considering the sea’s always changing colour to suit its mood.”
“The sea is more expressive than rivers, although the Thames has its moments. Sometimes it gives off a mystical quality to the city, especially at night, but it’s the colour of brown sludge because of the ancient sewer system.
” Mattie plucked a small, ivory shell from the sand. “There’s nothing like this in it.”
“You’re a city girl at heart?” asked Nell.
“Yes.” Mattie’s reply was automatic, but was it true?
She’d always been content to be based in London; it was hip and happening, the place to be both culturally and professionally.
But how often of late had she made use of what the city has to offer?
Barely ever. It would be easy to be seduced by a place like this.
The beach was empty but for them, now that the only other couple were wending their way up the stone steps.
“Let’s sit on the sand so our feet can dry off. ”
They chose an area at the top of the beach where the sloping sand was looser, having been exposed to the day’s heat for the longest. Mattie sat down and gestured for Nell to sit in front of her, between her outstretched legs.
She looked surprised but sat down anyway.
Mattie wrapped her arms around Nell’s waist and pulled her closer.
They sat quietly until the setting sun fell below the horizon.
It was just them, the gently lapping sea, and the warm still air in the semi-darkness.
“I feel like I’m caught in some kind of spell,” Mattie murmured, lacing her fingers with Nell’s.
“I’ve been thinking about you all day and replaying last night, realising how much I want to be with you, to touch you. ”
Nell’s fingers tightened, but she said nothing in response. Her sudden shyness was endearing, her lack of confidence unwarranted, and Mattie’s desire to sweep it all away increased ten-fold. “I’ve already mentioned my obsession with your freckles. No, no. Devotion, that’s a better word.”
Nell laughed, and her shoulders lost some of their tightness.
Mattie massaged them lightly and then traced her finger below the neckline of Nell’s blouse.
Nell shivered and arched backwards. “Your neck reminds me of a swan’s, so graceful and defined.
” Mattie kissed just under Nell’s ear. “Your skin is so soft.”
“You should see the bill for my skin care regime.” Nell’s voice caught as Mattie feathered her hands lightly over Nell’s breasts. She reached the hem of Nell’s blouse and slowly eased it upwards. Goosebumps coated her skin as it was exposed to the cooler night air.
“God, you are one sexy woman.” Mattie scooped Nell’s breasts out of their bra cups. “The things I want to do with you.”
“We can’t do this here,” Nell whispered. “We’re in public.”
“Hot as the idea sounds, I’m not going to strip you naked. Not yet, anyway.” Mattie squirmed, trying to hold off her surging arousal. “I’d like to last slightly longer than I managed yesterday.”
Nell bit her lower lip. “My staying power needs a bit of work too.”
Mattie hadn’t planned to seduce Nell on the beach, but it felt easier talking like this, with the cloak of dusk seeming to give Nell the freedom to relax.
Mattie brushed her thumbs across her exposed nipples and revelled in Nell’s immediate response.
“Promise that if I do something you don’t like, then you’ll tell me.
And if there’s something you do like or want, then tell me. ”
“Oh, you’ll know.” Nell gasped softly when Mattie softly rolled her palms over her nipples. “There is one problem though.”
Mattie stilled her fingers. “What is it?” she asked gently.
“In this position, I can’t touch you. And I’d rather like to.”
Mattie picked up where she’d left off. “Patience.”
“Not fair.”
Mattie snorted. “You don’t sound remotely cross about it. Undo your shorts for me.”
Nell inhaled sharply. “Here?”
“Yes, here.” Mattie nuzzled her neck.
“I’m not a sex-on-the-beach type of person.” Nell’s hands moved to the waistband of her shorts anyway. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered.
Neither could Mattie. Unplanned, but so damn hot. She held her breath as Nell flicked the button undone and slowly tugged the zip down. Could she feel Mattie’s hands tremble as she slipped inside Nell’s panties? She needed to touch her there, needed to feel her pulsing warmth.
Nell swallowed hard. “What are you doing to me?”
“I’m drawing circles on your clit and feeling how wet you are.”
Nell groaned even louder. “I was being rhetorical.”
“I know.” Mattie laughed, intensely aware of how much she’d turned herself on, let alone Nell.
She let her fingers say everything else until Nell moaned softly but intensely, and bucked against her hand. Mattie rested her chin on Nell’s forehead and held her close. “You are the most glorious woman.”
A little while later, in near darkness, Mattie used the torchlight on her phone to illuminate the stone steps leading back to the cottage.
“I need a shower. There’s sand in places that it has no right to be,” said Nell. At Mattie’s raised eyebrows, she shook her head. “By myself, before you get any ideas.”
“Feel free.” Mattie grinned. “There’s barely enough room for one of us in that shower, let alone two.”
A short while later, Nell emerged from the bathroom with damp hair and dressed in nothing but a long shirt kept together by only two lower buttons. When Nell sat on the bed next to her, Mattie pulled the lapels apart to reveal Nell’s breasts. “This shirt-on thing has a sexiness all of its own.”
Nell clambered onto the bed, taking care not to knock the tray on Mattie’s lap, which held two glasses of water and the punnet of raspberries.
Mattie popped a plump raspberry into her mouth and laid back against the pillow.
“There’s something about homegrown and freshly picked fruit that makes it seem more wholesome. ”
“Raspberries get a poor deal next to strawberries.” Nell licked juice off of her index finger.
“I went to the tennis at Wimbledon last year. You could buy strawberries and cream for an extortionate price, but there were no raspberries in sight. Yet raspberries are incredibly easy to grow. Water when necessary and chop the vines back in late winter. That’s about it. ”
Mattie ran her hand along Nell’s bare thigh. “You’ve got more patience than I have. The closest I ever got to gardening was when Simon and I were kids and we’d go to the PYO fruit farm.”
“PYO?”
“Pick your own. Farmers didn’t get such a high price by selling it to PYO customers rather than shops, but at the same time, it meant they didn’t have to pay for labour to harvest the fruit.
” Mattie smiled at the memory. “We used to pick raspberries and blackcurrants. Probably ate one for every dozen that made it into the basket. We ended up smeared in berry juice and with thorns in our fingers. Mum would freeze some of the fruit and make jam out of the rest. Happy days!”
“Our childhoods were very different,” said Nell. “Violin practise was what I had to look forward to on Saturday afternoons.”
“Oh no.” Mattie groaned. “That sounds like my version of hell. Do you still play?”
Nell shuddered theatrically. “I hated violin with a vengeance, along with piano and ballet lessons.”
Mattie chuckled. “So I wouldn’t have met you at the skateboard park then?”
“I wish. Our hobbies were of the elite and clean kind. No grubby fingernails allowed.” Nell looked thoughtful.
“It’s probably one of the reasons why gardening became my salvation.
Growing vegetables from seed, the whole process of re-potting seedlings as they grow until they’re strong enough to go into the ground. The cycle of it appeals to me.”
“I’m enjoying the fruits of your labours. These are seriously good.” She plucked another raspberry and held Nell’s gaze as she purposely made a mess of eating it. Juice clung to her fingers. She grinned wickedly and held them out. “You’re welcome to lick the juice off them for me.”
Nell touched her flaming cheeks. “I bet my face resembles the same colour as this raspberry right now, doesn’t it?”
“Sexual intimacy is nothing to be ashamed of,” Mattie said gently.
“I’m not ashamed. Just...not used to behaving like...or saying...” Nell shrugged, clearly embarrassed. “I’ve never eaten raspberries in bed before or had sex with someone I barely know. I’ve not had much sex at all, to be honest.” She directed her last sentence at the ceiling.
Compassion flooded Mattie, and she pulsed with the need to comfort, to be the one to take away the hurt and embarrassment.
What had happened in Nell’s life to make her turn her back on sex?
Surely she hadn’t been short of offers. “Nell, last night was wonderful, and I’m desperate for more.
” She held up the bowl. “There’s one raspberry left. ”
“You have it,” Nell said.
Mattie locked her gaze on to Nell. “Only if you feed it to me.”
Nell drew a ragged breath then slowly traced her fingers over Mattie’s abdomen. Mattie shivered at her delicate touch. She could get very, very used to this.