Chapter 22 #2
Camille's hand slid between their bodies, her fingers finding Lou's clit with practiced ease. Lou gasped and stuttered in her rhythm, her hips jerking forward into the touch.
"Like this," Camille murmured, circling Lou's clit with the same slow deliberation Lou had used on her. "I'd imagine you above me, just like this. Imagine the sounds you make when I touch you here—"
She pressed harder, and Lou made a sound that was half-moan, half-sob, her fingers resuming their motion inside Camille with renewed urgency.
They found a rhythm together—give and take, push and pull, pleasure building in waves that crested and receded and crested higher.
Lou's free hand braced against the mattress beside Camille's head, her muscles trembling with the effort of holding herself up while her hips rolled against Camille's hand.
"I'm close," Camille gasped. "Lou, I'm—"
"Come for me." Lou's eyes met hers, those green depths blazing with love and desire and reverence. "Let me see you. Let me feel you."
The orgasm crashed through Camille like a wave breaking on shore—sudden and overwhelming, pleasure radiating out from her center to fill every nerve ending. She cried out Lou's name, her body arching off the mattress, her inner walls clenching around Lou's fingers as the release shook through her.
Lou worked her through it, her fingers gentling but not stopping, drawing out the pleasure until Camille was trembling and oversensitive and utterly undone.
"Your turn." Camille's voice came out hoarse, wrecked. Her fingers, which had stilled during her own orgasm, resumed their motion against Lou's clit. "I want to watch you fall apart."
Lou was already close—Camille could feel it in the tension of her muscles, the quickening of her breath, the way her hips moved in desperate little circles against Camille's hand.
"Look at me," Camille commanded, and Lou's eyes flew open, meeting hers. "I want to see your face when you come."
She pressed harder, circled faster, and Lou shattered with a cry that echoed off the bedroom walls. Her whole body shook, her arms giving out so she collapsed half on top of Camille, her face buried in the curve of Camille's neck as the orgasm pulsed through her.
They lay tangled together, breathing hard, their bodies slick with sweat. Camille's heart was pounding so loud she was sure Lou could hear it, could feel it where their chests pressed together.
"That was—" Lou started.
"Not enough." Camille shifted beneath her, her hands already wandering down Lou's back to cup her ass. "I want more. I want to make you come again."
Lou lifted her head, her eyes dark with renewed desire. "Camille—"
"Lie back."
Lou rolled onto her back, and Camille followed, settling between her thighs.
Her injured knee protested the position, but she ignored it—there were more important things to focus on.
Like the way Lou's thighs fell open for her.
Like the glistening evidence of Lou's arousal, still swollen and sensitive from her orgasm.
Camille slid two fingers inside Lou and watched her face transform—the catch of her breath, the flutter of her eyelids, the way her lips parted on a silent moan.
"Is this okay?" Camille asked, even though Lou's body was already answering for her, her hips lifting to take Camille's fingers deeper.
"More than okay." Lou's hand found Camille's where it rested on her hip. "Don't stop. Please don't stop."
Camille didn't stop. She set a pace that was slow at first, almost tortuously slow, letting Lou feel every thrust, every curl of her fingers. Lou's free hand fisted in the sheets, her back arching, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Touch yourself," Camille instructed. "I want to watch."
Lou's hand slid down her own body, her fingers finding her clit. Camille watched, mesmerized, as Lou circled and pressed and gasped, her internal muscles fluttering around Camille's fingers with each stroke.
"You're so beautiful like this." Camille increased her pace, matching the rhythm of Lou's fingers on her clit. "So responsive. So mine."
"Yours." Lou's voice was barely a whisper. "Camille, I'm—"
"I know." Camille thrust harder, faster. "Come for me again. Let me feel it."
Lou's second orgasm was slower to build but devastating when it arrived—her whole body tensing, her back arching off the mattress, her inner walls clamping around Camille's fingers in rhythmic pulses.
She came with Camille's name on her lips, tears streaming down her temples to dampen the pillow beneath her head.
Camille eased her fingers free and crawled up Lou's body, pressing gentle kisses to her collarbone, her neck, her tear-stained cheeks. Lou's arms wrapped around her, holding her close, holding her like she was precious and fragile and worth protecting.
"I love you," Lou whispered into Camille's hair. "I love you so much it terrifies me."
"I know." Camille settled against Lou's side, her head on Lou's shoulder, their legs tangled together. "It terrifies me too. But I'd rather be terrified with you than safe alone."
They lay in silence for a long moment, the room growing warmer around them, their heartbeats gradually slowing to match each other's rhythm.
"So what happens now?" Lou's voice was soft, almost hesitant. "With us?"
Camille propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at Lou's face—the vulnerability there, the hope she was trying so hard to hide. "Now we're together. Properly. No more hiding, no more secrets, no more pretending we're just teammates."
"You're sure? Even with everything it'll cost you?"
"I'm sure." Camille traced Lou's jaw with her fingertip. "But there's something else I need to ask you."
Lou's expression shifted to guarded. "What?"
"Come back to the team. Take back the captaincy. We have one more game—the Wildcats—and it's going to be the hardest game of the season." Camille's voice was firm but gentle. "The team needs their captain. I need my partner on the ice."
Lou was silent for a long moment, her green eyes searching Camille's face. "You really think I can do it? After everything?"
"I think you're the best defensive player in this league, and I think you've been hiding from that because it's easier than facing what you're capable of." Camille's hand came up to cup Lou's cheek. "You're not just a good leader, Lou. You're an incredible one. And we need you. All of us."
More silence. Then Lou's hand covered Camille's, pressing it more firmly against her cheek.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"I'll come back. I'll talk to Mara and Astoria tomorrow. I'll take the C back if they'll have me." Lou's voice grew stronger with each word, some of that old fire returning to her eyes. "But I'm only doing this if you're beside me. On the ice and off it."
"Always." Camille leaned down to press a soft kiss to Lou's lips. "Partners. In everything."
They settled back into each other's arms, the late morning sun finding cracks in the curtains and painting stripes of gold across the rumpled sheets. Camille's body was pleasantly exhausted, her muscles loose and warm, her heart fuller than it had ever been.
"Camille?" Lou's voice was drowsy, her fingers tracing lazy patterns on Camille's back.
"Mmm?"
"I feel safe with you." Lou's arms tightened around her. "Safer than I've felt in years. Like I can finally stop running."
Camille pressed closer, breathing in the scent of Lou's skin, memorizing this moment—the warmth, the weight of Lou's arms, the steady beat of her heart.
"Then stop running," she whispered. "I've got you."