Page 31 of Spicy Sapphic Christmas

Bunny snorted lightly. “Shallow?”

“I call it like I see it.”

Taking a step forward, Bunny pushed Bea back. Bea took an uneasy step, the backs of her thighs hitting the edge of the piano. When had she gotten so close to it?

“And so do I.” Bunny’s threat was clear. She still had a hand on Bea’s side, and she lowered it to Bea’s hip, giving her one good hard shove until she fell back onto the keys of the piano. The discordant notes hit the air just as Bunny’s lips were on hers.

Moaning, Bea dropped her hand to the piano to hold herself up better, the noise loud in her ears. Bunny’s tongue pushed against hers, and Bea struggled to breathe again, but this time for an entirely different reason. She was lost in the kiss. She dug her fingers into Bunny’s hair, tightening her grasp as she sucked Bunny’s lower lip into her mouth and scraped her teeth along the sensitive skin.

Two could play this game.

Perhaps this was Bunny’s angle. She kept accusing Bea of having one, why should Bea be so stupid as to assume that Bunny didn’t have one too? Seduce the young musician every time she dared to have an opinion.

Jerking back, Bea held her ground. She stared directly into Bunny’s eyes when she said, “Stop.”

Bunny put her hands up and took a step back. She swiped her fingers over her mouth, cleaning it as she took a walk toward thewindow. She raked her fingers through her hair, pulling at the strands. Bea watched her carefully from the piano, still leaning against the keys.

“Just stop being a jerk.”

Bunny’s shoulders dropped. “We agreed to be civil.”

“We did.” Bea stood up, finding her footing again. Bunny was right. She pulled herself back together and folded her hands in front of her. “And for that sake, let’s move on. Why didn’t you plan a duet with me?”

“What?” Bunny spun around. “What are you talking about?”

“There’s no duet for us. There’s every other pairing under the sun, but none for you and me.” Bea walked closer, finally finding her confidence. “Why?”

“I didn’t…” Bunny trailed off, blinking and furrowing her brow. “I didn’t think our voices would blend well together.”

“Don’t lie to yourself. If you didn’t want to do one with me, that’s all you had to say.”

“It’s not that.” Bunny frowned. “It’s not that at all.”

“Then what is it?”

Bunny looked stunned, fear crossing her gaze before she shook it. “Just trust me. That’s not why.”

“We have refreshments!” Piper said from the doorway.

“Oh, thank God,” Bunny muttered as she walked past Bea.

So much for that conversation. Bea took an extra second to pull herself together before she turned around and faced her sister. She couldn’t know what they’d just been doing. No one could.

TEN

jo

“All right, what happened?” Jo asked when they got into the car to go home. Whatever was going on between Bunny and Bea—and Jo knew something was definitely going on—had left Bea bristling for the rest of the afternoon.

It was almost easy to quell her excitement as Bea’s icy quiet filled the car.

But the afternoon had gone well. Jo and Piper fed off each other’s energy and all their voices seemed to blend together really well once they got warmed up and onto practicing. They had only gotten through a few songs, and there was definite improvement to be made. But the excitement hummed like electricity beneath Jo’s skin.

“What do you mean?” Bea asked, keeping her attention on the road.

Jo knew her sister better than Bea often gave her credit.

“You haven’t had a sugar spell in months.”

---