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  “Touch yourself, baby,” Lindsey whispered, taking Ella’s hand and urging it down.

  A jolt fired through Ella as her hand found her clit and she began a slow, circular massage.

  Lindsey reached behind, following the cleft of Ella’s ass. Ella arched back, granting access as Lindsey’s finger slid deep inside her pussy.

  Ella’s breath caught. She closed her thumb and forefinger over her own nipple and tugged hard while she worked herself toward orgasm. Lindsey added a second finger, stretching Ella’s sensitive inner tissue. The hedonistic pleasure she derived was too much, too good. Coherent thought fled and was replaced with wild, all-consuming sensation.

  She moaned and whimpered.

  Lindsey’s fingers pumped and her mouth sucked.

  “Oh…” Ella managed as she hurtled toward orgasm. “Oh, fuck yeah. Fuck…I’m coming, oh God, Lindsey, I’m coming so hard.” Her voice came out in a high-pitched warble as ecstasy ripped through her.

  How did this woman manage to shatter her time and time again? Every nerve, every tendon and fiber of muscle sang as she rolled to face her lover. They kissed for what seemed like hours and then Ella moved down and tasted Lindsey, fucking her with her fingers and tongue until Lindsey came and came again.

  Chapter Four

  Lindsey brushed her damp palms on her jeans as the van turned into Ella’s parents’ driveway. The house looked normal enough. An older two story. Very traditional.

  “Northington District 9” was emblazoned on a red, white and blue sign in the yard.

  Ella shot her a glance and Lindsey could tell her lover was just as nervous.

  Part of the reality show included home visits where Lindsey and Maurice would document each of the contestants with their families. Normally this type of shoot wouldn’t bother Lindsey at all. In fact she’d been quite comfortable yesterday when she’d filmed Marquita at home.

  But meeting Ella’s parents…

  Even though they’d be none the wiser that she’d spent last night with their daughter, Lindsey had the feeling meeting them would only drive home the knowledge there was no hope of any future with the beauty queen.

  Part of her welcomed that knowledge. She was used to the status of friends with benefits. It was comfortable.

  Entertaining more with someone was very uncomfortable. And Lindsey had caught herself on several occasions imagining how she’d get back to this part of the country to hook up with Ella again.

  Lindsey heaved a sigh as the driver parked the van. She seized the handle, gave it a tug and opened the door just as Ella’s parents stepped out the front door.

  Maurice rolled out of the passenger side of the van and started around back to begin unloading the equipment.

  Ella’s father and mother exchanged looks and Lindsey knew it was because they’d expected a monster-sized film crew to arrive with their daughter.

  “Hi, I’m Lindsey,” she introduced herself and extended her hand to Ella’s father.

  “Joe Northington,” he said. His smile was fake. Practiced. He closed his other hand over Lindsey’s.

  He was handsome, in a clean-cut sort of way. The perfect mix of salt and pepper in his hair. The affable sparkle in his blue eyes. Lindsey’s trained eye told her the camera would love him. “Nice to make your acquaintance,” he said before moving on to greet Maurice.

  “Millie Northington,” Ella’s mom said. “I thought there’d be—”

  “More of us? We get that all the time.” She smiled widely.

  Ella joined them. “Mom, Dad, this is Lindsey and that’s Maurice.”

  Maurice tilted his chin up in acknowledgement.

  Joe still seemed disbelieving. “And the driver? Is he a part of the crew? Will there be more of you?”

  “No, Dad,” Ella explained. “The driver works for the hotel.”

  “There’s just the two of you?” he asked.

  “Yep,” Lindsey said. “We’d like to get a shot of you coming out the front door to greet Ella.”

  “But we just did that,” Millie said.

  “It’s for the show, Mom.”

  Maurice handed Lindsey a couple of mics. “Let me get you guys wired for sound first and then we’ll start the shoot.”

  “Oh, this is exciting,” Millie said as Lindsey handed her the mic.

  “Run this up under your sweater and clip it on the lapel. I’ll hook it up on the back,” Lindsey said and Ella stepped in to help while Joe cleared his throat and practiced his politician’s voice.

  Heat crept into the back of Lindsey’s neck and she wondered if Ella had said anything to her parents that would give them cause to speculate. Not that it mattered, Lindsey reminded herself. But Ella seemed adamant about remaining in the closet.

  Disappointment snaked through Lindsey and she willed the unwelcome emotion away.

  “Next,” she said and smiled at Joe.

  With a wry grin, he took it from her. “I’m an old pro at this. I can do it.” He clipped the box on the back of his khakis and then wrangled the wire up underneath his blue button-down.

  “I’m ready,” Maurice said.

  “Let me check Ella’s mic,” Lindsey said. She stepped behind Ella, so close the scent of the beauty queen’s sultry perfume wafted around her. A warm blush infused Lindsey’s cheeks as the backs of her knuckles brushed Ella’s skin. Even standing here in front of her parents, Ella possessed an allure Lindsey was powerless to resist.

  Ella climbed back into the van and her parents strolled back into the house so they could reenact the arrival.

  Lindsey had filmed several such family visits on the various reality shows she’d shot, but this one seemed terse. Ella wore the same smiling, icy facade with her parents she donned in front of the pageant judges.

  In her interview, Millie chattered on about her hopes Ella would marry a man with a good income so she’d be free to stay home with her children—provided the Good Lord saw fit to bless her with any. Joe took it upon himself to further his political platform while pretending to be the supportive father.

  Lindsey could see Ella living such a life, but in the visions, the practiced smile diminished into a look of despair. The light drifted out of her sparkling eyes and she led a life of secret desires and heartache. Lindsey’s own heart twisted.

  After they finished the shoot, Lindsey excused herself to get the release forms she’d forgotten in all the excitement.

  “I’ll walk with you,” Ella said and followed her outside.

  The tension between them was palpable. Lindsey’s body hummed to touch Ella’s. A brush of hands. A lingering glance. Anything.

  “See what I mean?” Ella asked and flashed a conspiratorial smile.

  Lindsey saw all too well. In fact the few hours she’d spent in the company of the Northingtons dragged her kicking and screaming back to her teenage years when she’d had to keep her relationship with Reagan under wraps. While a part of her enjoyed the thrill of a clandestine kiss, Lindsey didn’t want that sort of life on a full-time basis.

  As soon as they skirted the van, Ella seized Lindsey, dragged her close and claimed her lips.

  Stunned, Lindsey resisted at first and then she melted and returned the flirtatious kiss.

  Ella drew away and thumbed back a strand of Lindsey’s hair. “Oh my God, I’ve been dying to kiss you all day.”

  Lindsey wanted to join her lover’s excitement, but something prevented her. A sad smile played on her lips. “Yeah, me too,” she said.

  Ella didn’t seem to notice. Besides, now wasn’t the time for an in-depth conversation about coming out. Lindsey touched her tongue to her own lips, tasting Ella’s peach-flavored lip gloss.

  “Take these back inside,” Lindsey said, handing Ella the release forms. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Ella glanced around, gave Lindsey one more peck on the lips and then darted off with the forms.

  Lindsey sagged against the van’s back bumper and sighed. She’d known from the beginning there’
d never be anything real between them.

  So why was she so confused?

  * * * * *

  Marquita was onstage wearing a sequined, crimson gown, singing an aria that reverberated off the back walls of the crowd-filled hall. By all accounts every eye should be trained on her, and yet Ella couldn’t look away from Lindsey.

  Ella’s insides should have been a jangle of nerves as she awaited her turn. There was always the chance she could drop her baton or go blank during her routine, but tonight none of those things vied for prominence in her thoughts.

  She’d spent every night since her arrival in Lindsey’s bed. In Lindsey’s arms. And now that only one more night of the competition remained, Ella couldn’t imagine her life going back to the way it was before.

  She could move. She could go to a bigger city where she’d get lost in the crowd, where she could teach without her private life being the focus of the school board and the parents. Where no one knew or cared who Joe Northington was.

  And yet, other than their initial conversation, neither of them had spoken about any sort of future plans, but Ella knew Lindsey would move on to her next project and be gone from her life other than an occasional text.

  A lump welled in Ella’s throat and she drew in a deep breath in an attempt to stave off tears.

  Lindsey’s stance widened as she dropped to get a more dramatic shot of Marquita without compromising the integrity of the stage. Ella adored the way her lover set her tongue between her lips when she was deep in thought. Her heart warmed.

  “Ella,” Chelsea’s harsh whisper came from behind her. “What’s wrong with you? You’re on. What on earth were you looking at?” Her gaze drifted from Ella to Lindsey and her lips parted.

  But Ella didn’t have time to ponder the ramifications of her competitor’s suspicions. Her music began and she raced onto the stage to begin her routine.

  * * * * *

  Lindsey’s thumb hovered over the Send button. She reread the text five times. Wanna fuck? Indecision surged through her. She squeezed her eyes shut but all she could see was Ella’s long blonde hair strewn across the white pillow slip. Gritting her teeth, Lindsey growled in frustration. Shit. Why was she hesitating? It was the last night of the pageant.

  She would be packing up to leave as soon as the winner was crowned. Maurice had already sent most of the footage they’d taken to the editor since the show was on a tight deadline.

  There wouldn’t be another night to spend in Ella’s arms.

  Lindsey stared at the text. “Fuck it,” she muttered and hit Send.

  Ten seconds later, she received a reply. On the way now.

  Her stomach knotted with desire and expectation. She was being silly, entertaining thoughts that there could possibly be anything between them after tonight. After all, wasn’t she the one who’d laid out the rules in the beginning?

  She tossed her phone across the bed before padding into the bathroom to swish some mouthwash around before Ella arrived.

  Lindsey eyed herself in the mirror and clicked her tongue bar against the roof of her mouth. What was she thinking? Beautiful girls like Ella rarely came out. When they did, they didn’t hook up on a permanent basis with tattooed, body-pierced butches.

  Cold chills broke out on her flesh when Lindsey raked her fingertips over one half-sleeve of colorful tats. Ella had traced the tribal swirls with her fingers, with her tongue. She’d flicked the little ring dangling from Lindsey’s bellybutton. Surely Lindsey couldn’t have mistaken that look of admiration in her lover’s eyes.

  She swallowed thickly and dabbed at her lips with the towel just as a knock sounded on the door.

  When she opened it, Ella was standing with her back against the wall on the other side of the hall. She looked beautiful, her face freshly washed and makeup-free, her hair brushed and flowing over her shoulders. Her flirtatious smile beckoned Lindsey who inhaled and boldly crossed the deserted hall. She cradled Ella’s face in her hands and kissed her. Hard. No tenderness softened this kiss. Instead Lindsey claimed her lover’s mouth. Bruised it.

  Frustration and lust poured out of her as her hands moved downward, roughly raking Ella’s shoulders, groping her ass, her breasts. Lindsey tweaked a nipple, eliciting a moan.

  She half thought Ella would draw away, ask her not to be so intimate where there was a possibility they could be discovered. But she did none of those things. Instead she clutched Lindsey’s body close and moved restlessly against her.

  Lindsey captured her lover’s earlobe and she sucked it before whispering, “I want to eat your pussy.”

  At the ribald words Ella’s body seemed to mold to Lindsey’s, countering her, fitting her—soft, feminine curves against taut, coltish muscles.

  Lindsey breathed in the soap-and-water scent of freshly showered skin.

  A low, husky chuckle played in Ella’s throat as her fingers entwined with Lindsey’s and she pulled her back into the hotel room.

  Lindsey’s channel clenched and her clit pulsed as she hastily drew off Ella’s top and then her shorts and underwear while Ella stepped out of her shoes. God, she was beautiful. So fucking beautiful. Anger that Ella kept her sexuality hidden warred with Lindsey’s hot desire. Lindsey wanted to kiss her and punish her at the same time.

  She entwined her fingers in Ella’s blonde locks. “Get on the bed and get on your knees.” Her tone brooked no refusal.

  Lust darkened Ella’s blue eyes and she did as commanded, glancing back as she positioned herself on all fours.

  Lindsey tore her gaze from Ella’s sly smile and instead gazed at her glistening slit—and the puckered little aperture in the center of her cleft. Shucking her top and bra, Lindsey climbed onto the bed and rubbed her palms over Ella’s ass cheeks, relishing the feel of velvety skin and pliable flesh. So soft. So sexy.

  Fingers tightening, Lindsey kneaded the sweet flesh, pinching playfully before giving one side a sound smack.

  Ella let out a surprised little cry that quickly turned into a moan when Lindsey began soothing the offended flesh.

  She delivered one more sharp pop to Ella’s bottom before sinking until she was mouth level with that delectable little hole. Ella shivered as Lindsey released a hot breath on her skin. When Ella jerked, Lindsey gripped her hips. “Don’t you dare move, baby doll.”

  Lindsey kissed the strip of flesh between Ella’s pussy and anus before teasing her tongue up and down that sensitive area. The muscles in Ella’s thighs tensed under Lindsey’s fingers.

  The urge to dominate welled hard in Lindsey and she resolved to take this as far as her lover would allow. She swept her tongue around and around the tight little hole then flicked its center.

  Ella moaned and shook. But she never protested.

  Spreading the soft cheeks wide, Lindsey burrowed into the freshly washed entrance, readying her lover for an invasion of a different kind. She slid two fingers deep into Ella’s pussy, coating them with the abundance of slippery cream then she pushed one inside Ella’s asshole.

  Ella released a ragged breath as Lindsey began fingering her. In. Out. In. All the way in. She ground her closed fist against Ella’s bottom and then withdrew again. Did she know how fucking hot she looked with her face turned to the side, her cheek on the sheets, pinching her nipple and reaching between her legs with her other hand to rub her own clit?

  Lindsey’s pussy grew slick in anticipation. She needed her lover’s fingers. Her mouth. But she could wait.

  A second finger joined the first and Ella’s forehead furrowed. She bit her bottom lip and rubbed her clit with furious intent.

  Fuck you, Ella. Fuck you for not being mine. The thought shocked Lindsey. Her fingers stilled and she started to pull them out. What was she thinking?

  “Don’t stop,” Ella mewled. “Fuck me. Fuck me hard.”

  Lindsey stared, stunned, and then she pumped the two fingers hard and fast in Ella’s tight ass.

  Ella’s head lifted. She pushed back against Lindsey’s hand, taking
the fingers as deep as they’d go. Ella’s hips bucked and she gave voice to animalistic moans as she massaged her clit. “Oh, baby, you’re gonna make me come.” Her voice rose in pitch. “I’m fucking coming, Lindsey. Oh God.”

  Her chin dropped to her chest. She shook and squeezed her nipple. Perspiration misted her body, and the muscles in her thighs quivered while Lindsey felt the strength of her lover’s orgasm as inner tissue clamped down in hard, relentless spasms on her fingers.

  Liquid gushed from Ella’s cunt, running hot and silky all over Lindsey’s hand and wrist.

  Fuck! She’d made her squirt. Lindsey had only accomplished that once before. Pride swelled in her breast as she eased her fingers out of Ella’s ass then padded into the bathroom to wash her hands and get a towel.

  When she returned, Ella lay on her back. A smile played on her lush lips and the thoroughly satisfied look in her eyes caused Lindsey’s heart to turn over. Hard.

  She trembled as she unbuttoned her shorts and pushed them and her damp panties down. Without words, she crawled onto the bed and into Ella’s arms.

  When Ella reached for her pussy, Lindsey caught her hand and laced their fingers together.

  “What about you?” Ella asked.

  “I just want to be here with you for a little bit.” Jeez, she sounded like a lovesick idiot.

  Ella gazed into her eyes, doing nothing to alleviate Lindsey’s recent self-assessment.

  “I thought you weren’t going to ask me to come tonight,” Ella admitted softly.

  Lindsey sucked in a sharp breath. “I nearly didn’t.”

  Ella’s lips opened.

  “I thought you might not come,” Lindsey explained quickly. “I mean, I know what it’s like for you, not being able to be open and all.”

  Ella’s lashes swept downward. “Being with you has made that really hard for me.”

  The confession pierced Lindsey like an icy dagger to the heart. She wasn’t ready for this—for this responsibility—for someone else. She felt like an antelope under the golden gaze of a lioness, ready to bolt but knowing there’d be no escape.