Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EIGHT WEEKS LATER
The warm spray from the shower splattered across Hallie’s skin, warming her from the inside out. Even though it was mid-April, there was still a morning chill in the air.
Which she now had to make peace with, given the very precocious one-year-old dog that she and Brynn had adopted a few weeks ago. Technically, Linguini was Hallie’s dog, but Hallie wasn’t sure that Linguini knew that.
The dog’s doubt was evidenced by the fact that, even though Hallie was showering, Linguini, who’d just been taken outside and then fed, was already back to lounging in bed with Brynn. She’d officially moved over into Hallie’s bedroom, so long ago now that it felt like she’d always been there.
When she’d been visiting Brynn at her new job at the Stoneport Humane Society, she’d watched as a scraggly, pathetic-looking dog had been brought in after being found abandoned on one of the backroads.
It had only been March then, and hours had probably made the difference between life and death for Linguini.
Their eyes had met as Linguini had pulled herself up to hoist her front legs over the box, and it had been over. Hallie had walked out with her big-eared baby that day, after she’d been checked out by the on-site veterinarian and given all of her shots.
Linguini had been emaciated and scared, but overall, she had been in fairly good health. And really, what should Hallie have done? Let that little angel spend a lonely night in a kennel when all she really needed was some love?
Had she mentioned how pathetic Linguini had looked?
Maybe it was something about the lost, scared look in Linguini’s eyes that had stirred something in Hallie. The dog didn’t have that look anymore, but Hallie knew what it was like to feel powerless.
And if she’d thought that Brynn would be the voice of reason and tell her that it was a premature decision, she’d been sorely mistaken.
Because Brynn had come home from work a few hours later with more food, toys, and dog accessories than Linguini would probably use in an entire year.
The dog-sized clothing had arrived days later in the mail.
Clearly, Brynn’s love extended to any creatures that Hallie decided needed to be brought into the fold.
She was rinsing out her shampoo when the shower curtain was pulled to the side. Brynn joined her, like she sometimes did, and Hallie’s body immediately softened against her girlfriend’s warm skin. “Didn’t want to take your extra hour of sleep?”
Hallie was still training Brynn’s replacement, which meant that she needed to be up earlier every day.
And sure, she’d miss working so closely with Brynn, but when she’d brought up the idea to Hallie six weeks ago about an opening in fundraising at the humane society, Hallie had immediately been excited for her.
Because there was nothing more that Brynn loved than helping. Children. Animals. Wayward inn managers.
Something about it had just felt so right that Hallie had texted Reese immediately, letting her know that they needed to start looking for another manager.
Thankfully, the process had only taken a few weeks.
And the humane society was ecstatic to have Brynn, especially since she wasn’t exactly the type of person who was there for a paycheck.
“I missed you,” Brynn finally answered between peppering kisses down Hallie’s neck, which caused Hallie to sigh.
And yeah, Hallie knew the feeling. Another one of the paradoxes.
The missing, even sometimes when they were together.
The feeling that their love, which had only grown stronger, was so encompassing that it wasn’t possible for her body to hold all of it inside.
It would float out, and Hallie would sense that there was more somewhere, even if she was filled to the brim with adoration and awe and all of the emotions on the good side of the feelings wheel.
“You’re going in today?” she asked as Brynn picked up the body wash and squeezed some in her hands. She started to lather Hallie’s back, rubbing in light circles.
“I was thinking that I could take Linguini if you’re okay with it.
She can hang out with me in my office. And I can come home early, so we’ll both be here when you’re done with work.
” Brynn worked from home some days, in the second bedroom that they’d converted into an office, but for the most part, she liked to go to the facility.
Probably because she got to hang out with dogs instead of people.
Hallie turned her head so that she could look Brynn in the eye. “Do you think that will be traumatic for her? What if she thinks she’s getting sent back there?”
Brynn laughed and wrapped her soapy hands around Hallie’s torso, their bodies sliding together. “I think she’s a smart girl, but if you don’t like the idea, we don’t have to. I know that we’re all still adjusting.”
Which, in some ways, was technically true. But Linguini had already embedded herself into their life so seamlessly that, just like Brynn, it was like Hallie had always been meant to find her.
Hallie sighed. “No, it’s a really good idea. I don’t want to let my fear hold Linguini back from living life to the fullest.”
“The socialization will probably be good for her,” Brynn fairly pointed out.
Hallie side-eyed the love of her life. “She socializes with us.”
That only made her squeeze Hallie more tightly, and their bodies jostled when Brynn laughed. “You’re right. That’s absolutely my mistake.”
“Linguini fits in with our family. She loves to snuggle. She’s nervous around strangers. And she thinks that sweaters are the best clothing in the world.”
She was expecting Brynn to laugh. Instead— “Our family?” Brynn repeated, her voice full.
“Well, yeah,” Hallie stated without reservation. “You, me, and Linguini. We’re a family.” It was something that she’d voiced in her head frequently, but she hadn’t realized till now that she hadn’t said it out loud.
“I like that.” The breathy, pleased tone in Brynn’s voice made Hallie’s stomach swoop low at the same time that Brynn’s hands started to find their focus, trailing their fingertips back and forth across Hallie’s abdomen, below her belly button.
The wanting, even after months, hadn’t abated. If anything, it was growing stronger. Every day they spent together. Every new memory that they created. Hallie was falling deeper and deeper.
“Fuck,” she breathed out as Brynn’s fingers slid down to her entrance. Her other hand started to pluck at Hallie’s nipple, rolling the hard bud around.
“I love you, and I love our life.” Hallie would have believed her, anyway, but she really felt those words in this moment as Brynn’s fingers found her already wet entrance.
Like, embarrassingly wet. She slid two fingers inside, coating them before pulling them out and focusing her attention on Hallie’s clit.
Hallie was powerless to do anything except brace her hands against the wall and spread her legs open wider, just to make sure that Brynn had all the access that she needed. There was nothing that she loved more than being owned by Brynn in this way, except for giving the same back in return.
She felt the press of Brynn’s chest against her back, the way that Brynn’s arm bracketed their bodies so that they were moving as one.
And fuck, did being able to feel Brynn’s hard nipples against her skin and to grind her ass against Brynn’s pussy ratchet up the desire that was already careening through Hallie.
Brynn and her exponential learning curve had learned how to play Hallie like a fiddle, and she was already feeling an orgasm building as Brynn massaged her clit in a focused, precise circle.
Brynn started to grind her hips into Hallie harder, her fingers picking up an aggressive pace. “Hold yourself against the wall,” Brynn commanded.
Hallie would never get tired of hearing Brynn say things like that. Of how she was so open in putting her need for Hallie on display. The way she vocalized exactly what she wanted to do to Hallie, all without reservation.
She licked warm drops of water off her lips, even though they did nothing to quench the fire burning through her. God, she wanted this. “Baby, yes. Fuck me.”
Brynn rutted against her, and Hallie wondered if she was getting relief.
She hoped to god that she was, and she wondered how she was surviving this moment if not.
Because Hallie felt like she was about to come apart at the seams as they stood in the steamy shower, hot and wet and with Hallie wondering whether her legs would give out before she finally came.
She couldn’t stand it, the idea that Brynn wasn’t going to come with her. That Hallie could be touching her, too. She pulled one of her hands off the wall and reached behind her, trying to nestle her hand between their bodies. It was no small feat with the way Brynn was grinding against her.
She found the right angle, and her hand slid across Brynn’s pussy, which was already soaked. They both groaned as she quickly found her clit.
But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t—
Always on the same page, it was Brynn who turned Hallie around before pushing her back against the wall.
And then they were face-to-face, their hands quickly moving against each other’s flesh.
Brynn found Hallie’s clit a split second before she was able to touch Brynn.
This time, she slid two fingers inside of Hallie, using her palm to work her clit.
It was less precise than before, but the feeling of Brynn inside her made Hallie’s thighs shake with need.
And when Brynn’s leg slid between hers for more traction, Hallie’s head thumped back against the wall, impossible to hold up.
“Yes,” she moaned as Brynn started to fuck her harder. And she did the same. At least, as much as her body could manage given how Brynn was driving her into oblivion over and over and over again.
“You’re mine,” Brynn said, her fingers unrelenting. She’d fill Hallie and then pull out quickly, only to thrust in again even deeper.
Hallie was delirious from it all. The heat and Brynn’s words and her touch and every single fucking thing happening right now.
Through it all, she kept focusing on Brynn’s clit. Rubbing harder circles whenever Brynn thrust into her again, their bodies closer together. It seemed to be having the right effect, as Brynn’s pumps grew messier.
She bit down on Hallie’s shoulder, and the dam broke, Hallie exploding from the inside as pleasure rocketed through her.
She didn’t stop fucking Brynn either. Her own desire couldn’t allow it.
She needed Brynn to come. She needed to make her delirious with the same pleasure that threatened to engulf Hallie.
“Baby,” she said, coaxing Brynn to meet her gaze. “Are you this wet for me? Because you love fucking me so much? Because there’s no one who makes me feel as good as you do?”
And like they were the magic words, Brynn’s whole body started to shake. She pressed herself hard against Hallie, grinding her hips into Hallie’s hand.
“Hallie, Hallie, Hallie…” Brynn chanted her name like it was a prayer, in tandem with the push of her hips. She was still biting against Hallie’s shoulder, marking her.
And Hallie loved it. She would have fucked Brynn until the water ran cold. Until neither of them could hold themselves up. Until the blooms of color on Hallie’s shoulders turned black and blue.
All that she wanted was Brynn, all the time.
Brynn’s movements finally slowed, and she shifted her head from the crook of Hallie’s shoulder, their foreheads meeting. “I will never get over how good you make me feel,” she said, mesmerized.
Hallie’s response came easily, as she started to rub gentling circles against Brynn’s back. “Good. Because I plan to keep it up for the rest of our lives.”