Chapter Sixteen
Tamsyn wanted to scream, laugh, and kiss Isla all at once. But given that everyone was sleeping, sneaking off to the clearing in the dead of night to scream and laugh probably wasn’t the smartest idea. Kissing, on the other hand...
Tamsyn stroked little circles across Isla’s bare hip bone with her thumb and then feathered her tongue across Isla’s bottom lip. She tasted like chocolate chip cookies. Just a few minutes ago, they’d shared the very last one. A bittersweet moment.
“I can’t believe we pulled that off,” Isla muttered, her breath warm against Tamsyn’s mouth.
They were pressed together against a crooked gum tree at the far edge of the clearing where shadows hid them from anyone who needed to use Moon Pit for what it was actually intended for.
“Did you see Petra’s face when I stood up to give the advantage to Vivian? ”
Tamsyn didn’t think she could ever forget that shocked expression. It was as if Petra had looked over Vivian’s shoulder and watched someone knock over her chessboard and announce, “New rules.” To say she was shocked was an understatement. Aghast was more accurate.
“We did a good job,” Tamsyn said.
“We did amazing,” Isla corrected. “Your idea to convince Barra with cookies was the best thing ever. But I still think she would’ve done it for only two.”
She pulled a face, and Tamsyn laughed against Isla’s temple.
Tamsyn had a feeling Isla would never get over it.
Which was kind of endearing. Tamsyn hadn’t expected anyone to feel so passionately over cookies, but according to Isla, they were her absolute favorite.
She believed without a doubt that the Outlast Her gods had put her in the right place and time.
“Four was a little too generous, but we had to get her on our side,” Tamsyn said.
Yesterday, after the girls had come back from the reward all windswept and awestruck and with their bellies full, Isla had offered to fetch water for everyone.
Barra, who could never resist a walk, especially after a meal, had volunteered to help.
They’d then met Tamsyn at the watering hole where she’d waited casually against the rock.
The cookie jar had been dismantled, and the stash redistributed into the lining of her leather jacket.
Tamsyn had felt like those scammers in NYC with watches pinned to the inside of their coats.
And that was when Tamsyn had realized their mistake. Barra had probably gorged herself on creamy panna cotta, and she would have no room for cookies. Which was why Tamsyn had decided to offer her more than the discussed two, which had worked.
“You know,” Barra had said, slinging her Hawaiian shirt over her shoulder.
She was dressed in cut-off denim shorts and a black cropped tank, showing off her newly formed abs.
Her tanned legs were dusted red. Her buzz cut had started growing out, and somehow she was looking more like Demi Moore in G.I.
Jane than Demi Moore herself. She eyed the cookie in Tamsyn’s hand and said, “Every time those Girl Scouts come knocking at my door, I feel morally obligated to buy every single box.” She had then plucked the cookie straight from Tamsyn’s grip and taken a bite.
Her eyes had fluttered. Her head had tipped back just slightly.
The most indecent little sound had left her throat.
Tamsyn had said, “Barra, we need you to convince Dominique to vote with us.”
Barra chewed slowly like she was processing a spiritual awakening.
“Oh. My. Fuck. That’s good. Are they dark chocolate chips?
” Then she’d swallowed, brushed the crumbs from her chest, and pointed to the two other cookies in Tamsyn’s other hand.
“Fine, I’ll convince Dominique that aligning with the two of you is in our best interest,” she’d said. “But I need another cookie for her.”
And thus, the Girl Scout alliance had been formed.
Isla pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Tamsyn’s mouth. “Do you think the Girl Scout alliance will make it further than the Red Gum Rebels?” she asked. “I know we’ve got Kendall and Frankie on our side, but I feel like we can’t fully trust Barra. She’s too easily bribed.”
“Shh,” Tamsyn said. She didn’t want to talk strategy anymore. Which was a big surprise. A week before she’d reported for the show, she’d spent at least three of her ninth-grade classes talking strategy.
“Never be the loudest,” Roxanne had said, drawing a circle on the blackboard with the title POSSIBLE PERSONALITIES written within it. Beneath the circle was a chaotic sprawl of arrows and bullet points. “That’s how you get voted out first.”
“But don’t be invisible either,” Jai had argued, swiveling on his swivel chair. “If no one remembers you, you won’t have any chance of winning.”
“I think you should just float, Miss,” Archibald had piped.
Jai shook his head. “Floaters get picked off. You should get a shield.”
Her neat diagram of the nitrogen cycle had been swallowed by a mess of circles and possible archetypes: loud leader, quiet floater, strategic mum, social butterfly, challenge beast, and villain.
Cathy had added a mysterious wildcard with three question marks beside it.
Tamsyn should’ve been teaching nitrogen fixation but had instead been taking notes.
Even Mikey, her cousin, had stopped coming over for their Wednesday evening rerun of America’s Top Model because apparently, Tamsyn had forgotten a world existed outside of Outlast Her.
“I just want to enjoy this moment,” she said, nibbling lightly at Isla’s jaw before she pressed her forehead to hers.
They stayed like that for a few quiet seconds, breathing in the same warm air, embracing the silence of the mountains in the distance and the faint call of the bush stone-curlew and the hooting of an owl somewhere close.
Then, Isla inched her mouth toward Tamsyn, and before she knew it, they were kissing again.
Teeth. Tongue. Lips. Isla’s hand slid up to cradle the back of Tamsyn’s neck, and Tamsyn’s fingers curled into the fabric of Isla’s shirt, pulling her closer.
Everything happened so slowly that it was as if they were moving through water.
Every movement left a lazy ripple behind.
Then Isla did something unexpected.
She spun Tamsyn around until Tamsyn was facing the tree and Isla was behind her.
Before Tamsyn could react, Isla pressed her front to Tamsyn’s back and slid her hands down between Tamsyn’s thighs. It didn’t even matter that Tamsyn was wearing shorts because she could feel the heat of Isla’s palm like it was a hot plate.
“This will be the first time I ever finger someone under a gum tree,” Isla said, kissing the back of Tamsyn’s neck until every hair, long and short, stood up on her body. “In fact, it’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this.”
“Not me. I have sex outside all the time,” Tamsyn said.
“Really?” Isla asked, sounding adorably aghast.
“Of course not,” Tamsyn said, half chuckling, half out of breath because Isla’s hand was between her legs. “I’ve always had a fear of being bitten on the ass by a spider.” Then she glanced back over her shoulder and winked.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” She spanked Tamsyn’s ass in what shouldn’t be sexy but somehow was, and Tamsyn was just about to say just that when Isla’s hand slid back up the inside of her legs only to dip beneath Tamsyn’s shorts. Then her bikini bottoms.
“Fuck!” Tamsyn swore under her breath.
Isla’s fingers went straight for Tamsyn’s clit. Then she rubbed it, keeping the pressure light. Tamsyn hung her head low and staggered a little.
But no matter. Isla was there to support her. She wrapped her other arm around Tamsyn’s waist, holding her up, while her fingers grazed Tamsyn’s clit like a feather.
But Tamsyn didn’t want light. She didn’t want the foreplay.
She grabbed Isla’s wrist and pushed her hand even harder against her center. “Harder,” she muttered, spreading her legs just a little wider.
And Isla did.
She pressed her fingers down on Tamsyn’s clit and rubbed against that delicious bud of nerves like the world was going to end and everything rested on the pressure of her hand.
Moan after moan rippled out of Tamsyn’s throat.
The bark of the red gum was rough beneath Tamsyn’s palms, but she didn’t even feel it.
The moon was brighter than ever, but she didn’t even see it.
Not with Isla moving over her like that, not with Tamsyn circling her hips to maximize the contact.
Then, before Tamsyn could even consider the possibility that things could get better than this, Isla’s mouth came to the back of her neck.
Her tongue slid a line along Tamsyn’s bare shoulder.
Then, to make things even hotter, Isla slipped her other hand beneath Tamsyn’s top and began fondling her breast. Her thumb swiped, then flicked, then—
“Oh, fuck!” Tamsyn muttered again. She could barely breathe as Isla pinched her nipples in a way that was both gentle and fiery.
Perfect jolts of pleasure swooped right down to her center.
Pleasure intensified tenfold right in the spot where Isla’s fingers were already doing all kinds of unspeakable things.
Then Isla wasn’t rubbing anymore. Instead, she was dipping her fingers in and out of Tamsyn’s entrance. She was kissing her neck. She was squeezing her breasts. She was pressing her fingers harder against Tamsyn’s center while Tamsyn rolled her hips over and over again.
Then, out of nowhere, her orgasm ripped through her.
But Tamsyn didn’t waste any time. She turned around, grabbed Isla by the hips, and pushed her against the tree.
Then she slid her shorts and panties down with one incredibly effective swoosh and slotted her thigh between Isla’s legs.
Isla’s center flattened against her skin, so scrumptiously wet that Tamsyn nearly moaned for the sake of moaning.
Then she began fucking Isla with her thigh.
Was there anything more intimate than a woman’s pussy riding your leg like a cowboy? Tamsyn thought not.
“Oh my god,” Isla spluttered. Her eyes were closed, head tipped back against the tree while her arms were circled around Tamsyn’s neck. But as much as Tamsyn loved how this was playing out, she couldn’t help but want more and to give more.
Tamsyn stepped back a few inches and dropped to her knees.
“What are you doi—”
But Isla didn’t get the words out before Tamsyn showed her exactly what she was doing.
She grabbed Isla’s calf and maneuvered her leg until it was hooked over Tamsyn’s shoulder.
Then she pressed a soft kiss against Isla’s mound before she moved her head back to admire the view.
And frankly, the view was incredible. Her short curls were soaked.
Her folds glistened in the moonlight. The way her legs were trembling slightly only added value.
“Stop staring,” Isla said, her voice breathy. “Just fuck me.”
Tamsyn smiled but wasted no more time. She stuck out her tongue and slid it between Isla’s folds.
Then she circled Isla’s clit for a few agonizing seconds and sucked for another few unbearable seconds before she retreated to her entrance.
She did this over and over until Isla’s entire body shuddered.
But she didn’t stop. On the contrary, she sped up.
Her tongue licked and dipped and explored every inch of Isla’s sex until she was sure she had it memorized.
Isla’s hands were in her hair, tugging at the braids, and Tamsyn had a brief moment of nostalgia.
Her mind flashed an image of that peony powder room where it all began.
She was just about to remind Isla about it when a moan escaped Isla’s throat. When Tamsyn stood up, Isla wrapped one still very naked leg around Tamsyn’s hip. “We really make a great pair.”
“The best,” Tamsyn answered, and then she kissed her. Hard enough to steal the oxygen from her lungs. Hard enough that there wasn’t space for anything else, especially the words I think I might be falling in love with you.