27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When they arrived, Hope flicked back her hair and waited for Alison to get out of the car, then stalked three feet ahead to the door. They were definitely off and Alison felt slightly sick with it. They were greeted by formal caterers and offered a glass of champagne, which both of them accepted as if it were a lifeline, then were ushered toward the back door and the garden path to the studio.
“Babe! Babes!” Prisha greeted them both, just inside the door. There were already more than forty people milling around, the epic outdoor space transformed with white draped walls and the promised fans, moving the baking air between the huge open doorways. It was still stiflingly hot. In the corner was a string quartet, and the lighting showcased Camille’s gorgeous works to perfection, each gleaming on their own podium around the room. Prisha kissed them both on their cheeks and the woman of the hour arrived, Camille looking like a goddess in a simple white sheath .
“Congratulations,” Alison kissed her heated cheek and Camille, for once, beamed at her.
“Thank you!” she said above the echoing voices of the partygoers. “Oh!” She said when she looked at Hope. “Ooh, daring! ” Her pupils flared and Alison saw exactly where her gaze had gone. Hope’s white shirt, now more demurely buttoned, was sheer enough to clearly show the shape and even a hint of the colour of her bare nipples. Hope glanced down, and for a second she froze, finally cognisant of her wardrobe malfunction. Then she flung her shoulders back and shrugged, like she’d done it on purpose. Alison was both uncomfortably aroused and impressed by her confidence.
“Free the nipple!” Prisha crowed and Hope snorted.
“I have great tits,” she said with another shrug. “Figure I’ll fit in with your sculptures,” she teased Camille. Alison took a second glance at the works. Those that held human form, definitely had a clear resemblance to one particular human body she was increasingly familiar with. Oh god.
Camille was whisked away by Harry, who’d arrived in a small clique of seriously rich men with creative facial hair, blowing Alison an air kiss on his way past. When she turned around, Hope was gone too, absorbed into the crowd like she had an important purpose that couldn’t possibly wait for Alison to join her.
Alison held back a sigh. She sipped on her champagne and found herself in conversation with one of her lesser demons from her Melbourne socialite days, then rescued by Flynn looking dapper and handsome, then finally Harry who was on full beam, art-loving, show-off mode.
“Where’s Hope?” he asked her after a while.
“I don’t know,” she said, over the hubbub of the increasing crowd. It had been an hour since she’d last seen her and her sense of discomfort was growing louder the longer she didn’t know where she was. Hope was absolutely avoiding her and while she wanted to respect her wish for space she had a nagging sense that she’d done her friend some damage. All the misguided lust in the world paled compared to that idea. Finally, mid-conversation with a striking redheaded museum director, Alison looked up and caught sight of Hope, all the way across the studio, staring at her with something like distress in her eyes.
The sight caused her to interrupt the woman, barely even politely, to excuse herself. She made her way through the crowd towards Hope who’d turned her back and was now staring intently at one of Camille’s abstract works.
“Are you okay?” Alison asked her, very much needing to get to the bottom of what was happening between them right now.
“Fine,” said Hope smoothly. “Making friends?” She jerked her head back in the vague direction Alison had been .
“Not really,” Alison said honestly. “I’ve been trying to find you.”
“Oh,” said Hope. “That looked friendly.”
There was a note in Hope’s voice that made Alison’s ears prick up in absolute confusion. Hope sounded desolate and Alison had no idea how to fix it.
“She was very pleasant?” Alison said.
“I’m sure.” Hope still wouldn’t look at her.
“Hope-”
“There you are!” Magnus arrived, Flynn at his heels. “God this party is a lot,” he said, looking exhausted. “We were going to raid a bottle of champagne and go outside in the fresh air for a bit. Do you want to join us?”
Alison looked to Hope. Hope looked back at her, finally. She shrugged, her chin raising, her eyes full of a challenge Alison absolutely couldn’t comprehend.
“Should I stay?” Hope asked her neatly, tilting her face up and sinking her teeth into her lip. The bottom dropped out of Alison’s stomach. Was this- was she- ?
“Actually,” Alison said to the boys, a slight tremble in her voice. “We won’t join you just yet.”
“Suit yourselves,” said Magnus easily and the two of them ambled away.
“Hope,” Alison said softly.
“Whatever you want, Ali,” Hope repeated, her eyes imploring. She swivelled her whole body towards her and just like that Ali knew. Hope wasn’t angry. She wasn’t hurt. She was shivering with need , despairing with it, unable to move on and Alison matched her, desire for desire. There was no stopping this, no way to end it, no way except to grab Hope’s wrist tightly in hers.
“I need-” she started, then stopped, her heart hammering in her ears. “Take us somewhere private,” she said firmly. “Right now.”
Hope didn’t even pause to take a breath, turning on her heels without meeting Alison’s eyes, leaving the crowd with urgency, pushing out through the door, Alison still holding firm to her wrist, walking them both around the outside of the studio to another door, leading to what appeared to be a small office. Hope opened the door and they both stepped in. The room was stifling hot, but Hope closed the door behind them.
Alison let go of her and crossed the room to open a window before they both literally died of heat exhaustion. The room held a desk, a pot plant, a collection of art posters and a narrow couch. She crossed back to where Hope stood, lips parted, eyes desperate, her hands trembling. She got as close as she could without touching her, knowing she was invading Hope’s space, her back now against the door, her head tilted back, gazing up at Alison looking agonised.
“Talk.” Alison said, her tone broaching no more arguments. She didn’t know where this side of her was coming from. She just knew she was done, that Hope was done, that this was bigger than both of them and she needed Hope to tell her.
“I did what you asked,” Hope said, her voice cracking. “Back at your house.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that-”
“Not that. You asked me for something though.”
Alison’s vision temporarily blurred as she realised what Hope was saying.
“Naked,” she whispered. “On your knees.”
“Yes,” Hope whimpered and Alison’s skin prickled all over. Their gaze locked and Hope took a shaky breath. “I wanted, so badly, for you to find me that way. ”
“You were naked… for me, in my bedroom?” Alison could hardly breathe.
“Mmhm,” Hope was trembling so hard now that Alison reached down to grab hold of her hip and press her into the door. Hope breathed in sharply at the contact. “But I realised… I didn’t know what was real and what was fake. That if I had it wrong-” she choked slightly. “So I got dressed again. And then I couldn’t look at you because I’m trying to be your friend, but it’s so hard, Ali…”
Alison watched her, quaking with want. The word friend rang in her ear and suddenly she saw what she could do, right now, for Hope. She reached out and deliberately, firmly, began to undo the buttons of Hope’s shirt.
Hope gasped, her lips parting.
“Ali-” her voice came out in a tight whisper.
“You’re right,” said Alison, pulling the last button loose. She slipped her hand under the loose fabric, sliding it up over Hope’s hot bare skin, her whole body thrilling at the sensation. Oh god, her skin was so soft, and burning like she had a fever. “We’re friends. And sometimes,” her lips brushed Hope’s earlobe, “sometimes you fuck your friends.”
Hope moaned, her hips jerking slightly against Alison’s .
“Ali-” she whimpered, her voice stuttering out, just as Alison’s fingers brushed up against the heated curve of her breast. “Ali-” her voice grew stronger. “Just- please tell me that this isn’t about your ex- husband ,” she begged.
Alison almost laughed.
“No.” She pulled back, just enough to meet Hope’s eyes. Hope tilted her head back to gaze at her, her eyes dark with desperation as Ali’s fingers stroked up over the curve of her body. “It’s about you,” she said. “It’s about you and how good you are to me. You’re so good , honey,” she told her, her fingers finding her hard nipple. Hope choked out a gasp as she softly stroked her thumb over the rigid tip. “And you deserve this,” she whispered, stroking the nipple again, watching in deep fascination as Hope groaned at the softest of teases.
“Ali- ” she whimpered again.
“Tell me to stop,” Alison said, her forefinger joining now to squeeze her nipple softly, to tug on it, watching Hope crumple with desire. “Go on,” she dared her. “Stop me.”
“Don’t-” Hope choked. “Don’t stop.”
Alison kissed her then, hard and furious, not holding back a thing, while her thumb and finger squeezed down firmly on Hope’s nipple. Hope cried out, the sound muffled by Alison’s mouth and Alison pulled back to tug Hope’s shirt open, to fill her eyes with the sight she’d longed for, Hope’s breasts, bare for her, full, heavy, nipples fiercely erect.
She gazed down the expanse of Hope’s abdomen, her small skirt, her thighs. She let go of Hope and stepped back, Hope gasping at the loss of contact.
“Take off your skirt,” Alison said, her voice so firm she barely recognised herself. Hope did what she was told, wriggling out of it, while Alison walked back six feet to sit on the couch halfway across the small room. Hope stayed where she was, her shirt open, her skirt on the floor. Alison watched her. God, she liked this far too much, Hope trembling with so much desire Alison wondered how much she could take. “Take them off too,” Alison ran her eyes down Hope’s underwear. Hope sunk her teeth hard into her lip. She hooked her fingers into her waistband and slipped the small garment down her thighs. When she stepped out of them, she stayed, almost panting, against the door, as if Ali still pinned her there with her hands.
“Ali-” she pleaded. “Please-”
“The shirt,” Alison said. Hope shrugged off the shirt and there she stood, utterly naked, in the middle of the day, the sounds of the party just through the wall. She was breathtaking, nothing but her need for Alison written all over her face. “Come here.” Alison crooked her finger.
Hope crossed the room, Alison soaking up every inch of the view, her beautiful naked friend stopping just before her, letting Alison look. She tried not to let Hope see that she too, was trembling, but right now, her desire was so much stronger than her fear. Hope was naked and when Alison crooked her finger one more time, Hope was right there, straddling her lap.
Alison kissed her and Hope moaned into her mouth, kissing her back. She gripped Hope’s bare hips to sit her firmly astride her thighs and then it was her turn to moan.
“You’re wet,” she whispered. “You’re so wet. You’re getting it all over me.”
“You do this to me,” Hope whimpered. “You do this to me all the time.”
Alison tugged her up again to press her hot face against Hope’s breasts, to tug her nipple into her mouth and suck. God, Alison could just about come from this. Hope was panting and it was everything Alison had ever wanted her entire life. She licked at Hope’s breast, biting her nipple, tugging it between her teeth and flicking it with her tongue and Hope sounded like she was almost sobbing.
“Ali, Ali-” she whined. “I need you-”
“I know.” Ali pulled back to meet her eyes. “You’re dripping all over me. ”
Hope convulsed.
“Please,” she gasped. “Please, please, please…”
“Tell me-”
“I need you,” she whimpered again. “I need you to touch me. I can’t take it anymore. You’re all I need-”
“I’m going to take care of you, honey,” Alison whispered. She slipped her fingers between Hope’s trembling thighs and found the softest, wettest, hottest sensation she’d ever felt. “ Hope, ” she choked. “Is this all for me?”
“Yes!” Hope gasped raggedly. “Oh god, yes-”
“Tell me,” she said, “tell me now.” She slowly got her bearings, sliding her fingers through Hope’s arousal, up, then down, then slipping up to circle her swollen clit. Hope was moaning, and whimpering, barely able to take breath. “Tell me.” Alison paused her fingers and Hope cried out.
“I’ve been wet for you for hours,” she gasped. “You make me this way. You always make me this way. Please, Ali, I need to feel you-” she reached for Alison’s wrist and pressed it down, her intention obvious .
“So greedy,” Alison circled her pussy with her fingers, not giving her what she craved, and Hope hissed out a desperate breath. “Let me take what I want,” Alison ordered her and Hope moaned. She let go of Alison’s wrist, her hands slipping around the back of Alison’s neck instead, her hips writhing, breasts bobbing just in front of Alison’s face. “That’s it,” Alison said, watching Hope as her desperation mounted, her pleasure climbing as Alison circled her.
“I-” Hope stuttered. “Ali-”
Ali slipped two fingers inside her and Hope flung her head back and ground down.
“ Ah-”
“That’s it,” Alison tried to keep her voice steady, almost blacking out at the incredible sensation: wet, hot pussy - Hope’s wet hot pussy - clenching around her fingers. She gently curled them, exploring the silky heat and Hope convulsed.
“Ali-” she cried out. “Ali… you’re inside me-”
“ Take it honey,” Alison said, pressing in a third finger and Hope moaned, grinding down harder, her hips circling, desperate. Understanding suddenly what she was after, Alison pressed her other hand between their bodies and slipped circles against her clit. “That’s it,” she said as Hope’s mouth dropped open in a silent cry. Just like that, Alison knew exactly what she needed. “Good girl,” she murmured and Hope clenched tight around her fingers.
“ Oh! Oh god- That’s- Ali-” Hope began to shake and Alison felt a kind of euphoria she’d never even dreamed was possible until Hope clenched down even harder, crying out, her head flying back, Alison’s face pressed into her breasts, sweat and sex everywhere as Hope came all over her fingers.
“Ali-” she sobbed. “Oh god, Ali.”
Alison held her tight. Hope was still trembling, but this time it was as she unwound from what seemed like every muscle in her body having clenched as she came. Alison could still feel her, fluttering around her fingers, aftershocks wracking her, her breathing coming in fits and starts. Her face was pressed into Alison’s bared shoulder, semi-collapsed against her, and Alison had never, in her life, felt a sensation quite like a limp, post-orgasm Hope Sullivan quivering in her arms.
“I’ve got you,” she whispered into Hope’s hair and Hope spasmed all over again. She pulled back, just enough to see Alison’s face, to press a kiss to her lips with aching softness.
“Ali,” she whispered, like a revelation. “Oh my god , Ali.”
“We’re still friends.” The words came out of Alison's mouth like a plea. Hope’s reverent expression cracked and she began, to Alison’s deep surprise and relief, to laugh.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “We’re still friends. In fact,” she looked down to where Alison’s fingers were still pushed deep inside her, “right now I’d say you’re the best of all my friends.”
Alison bit her lip against her smile. Then, very carefully, she pulled her fingers out. Hope moaned, her head falling back. She grabbed hold of Alison’s wrist, and looking straight into her eyes, slowly sucked Alison’s fingers into her mouth, licking herself from Alison’s skin. Alison couldn’t stop the moan that escaped her as Hope kept suckling, swirling her tongue around her sensitive fingertips. Alison felt it, as directly as if Hope’s tongue was on her clit. Unable to take another second she grabbed Hope roughly and kissed her deeply, groaning as she tasted the sex in her kiss.
Hope pulled back and looked at her intently.
“You’re close,” she murmured, lust flaring in her gaze. “Let me touch you.”
Alison stilled.
“I can’t,” she whispered.
Hope bit her lip .
“Tell me.” She flipped Alison’s words back at her, but instead of a demand it was a gentle plea.
“I don’t think I could take it.” Alison felt broken, even as she said it. “I trust you, more than I trust anyone,” she said. “But it’s too much.”
“Too much vulnerability.” Hope looked at her with so much understanding that Alison could have cried.
“I’m sorry-”
“Ali.” Hope stopped her. “As your friend I’m never going to push you for something you’re not comfortable with.” Alison swallowed. She nodded, even as she throbbed so hard it was almost painful. She was sweating, her heart racing so hard it was pounding in her ears. Hope searched her eyes. “You’re so on edge,” she murmured. She looked down at their laps: Hope, naked, thighs wrapped around Alison’s hips; Alison, still in her sundress. She reached down and very, very slowly, tugged up the fabric of Alison’s dress until it was up around her hips. She looked at Alison’s exposed underwear and a small whimper escaped her. She met Alison’s eyes. “Touch yourself,” she invited.
Alison stared at her. How Hope could possibly think that would be any less intimate, she didn’t know. She couldn’t imagine for a second making herself come, Hope’s eyes on her, watching her lose control .
“Turn around,” she whispered and Hope’s breath caught. Slowly, she slipped back off Alison’s lap, her teeth sinking into her lip. She shot her a look of absolute burning want and turned her back. Just like that, Alison’s humiliating dysfunction turned into a game, one Hope was willing to play with her. The realisation allowed her to slip her fingers into her underwear and let out an audible moan as she touched her swollen clit.
“Tell me how wet you are. How wet you are, because of me.” Hope begged, her legs trembling as she obediently kept her back turned. “ Please -”
“I’m soaked.” Alison’s voice cracked, and Hope’s head fell back in clear approval. Alison let her eyes track down the smooth expanse of Hope’s back, the way her tousled locks kissed against her spine, the dips and curves of her waist and hips, her luscious and entirely naked ass, the way Alison could see the traces of wetness between her thighs. She gasped raggedly as her body responded with shocking speed to the firm pressure of her fingers.
“Oh god,” Hope whispered. “Oh fuck, Alison-”
That was enough. Hope had been right, she’d been teetering on the edge, without even being touched, so close to coming herself simply from getting to touch Hope. Her orgasm hit hard, waves of pleasure leaving her shaking, dimly aware of Hope cursing as Alison, yet again, came hard against her fingers at the very thought of the woman in front of her. When she finally managed to open her eyes, Hope’s back was still turned .
“Come here,” she said weakly, dragging her fingers out of her underwear and Hope whirled around, climbed back into her lap and kissed her desperately.
“How are you this sexy?” she gasped and despite everything, Alison felt almost whole. Hope grabbed her hand again, and this time, tasted Alison on her fingers. “So good,” she moaned, her tongue slipping over her fingertips. “How dare you taste this good?”
“You’re a really good friend,” Alison told her, making her laugh all over again, dropping her fingers to kiss her. Alison felt like she was melting, like she never wanted to stop kissing Hope, like she could live right here, on this couch forever, needing nothing but the sound of Hope’s laugh and the taste of her kiss. Hope seemed to feel the same because she kept kissing her, both of them lost in each kiss like they needed each other’s mouth to breathe. Finally, giddy with Hope’s naked proximity she said, reluctantly, “we should get back to the party.”
Hope sighed.
“That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard.”
“Put your clothes back on,” Alison told her, and, just like that, with a small moan, Hope slipped from her lap and began to dress herself.
“You like me telling you what to do,” Alison observed, still unable to believe what had just transpired in this room. Hope flushed .
“Don’t go thinking you can use that against me,” she said, as she haphazardly did up her buttons. “It’s strictly contextual.”
“I know,” Alison pointed out. “You’ve never let me tell you anything our entire friendship.”
“I don’t understand it either.” Hope watched as Alison stood up, tried and failed to straighten her impossibly wrinkled dress then met her at the door. “There’s something about you. None of my other friends make me want to crawl on my hands and knees just to get to come.”
With that, she kissed Alison soundly and sauntered out the door. It took Alison a full thirty seconds to figure out how to make her legs work to follow her.