Page 83 of Hot Tea & Bird Calls
Celene propped herself on an elbow, sliding her fingers along Skye’s in leisurely drags. “Downy woodpeckers love our trees out front. I like to think one of them is Beaker.”
How the hell did she doubt Celene was her type? That’d been some elite denial. Skye could only stare as this sweet, conscientious New Yorker who challenged CEOs and bonded pressed flowers into epoxy. More layered and misunderstood than anyone she’d ever met.
It’d probably been a blessing that the Vale family hadn’t returned for so long because Celene would’ve hooked Skye, and she’d never want to be saved.
Solidifying this thought, Celene seized Skye’s lips in a slow, assertive kiss. One of someone tender after showing her wounds, who demanded control again. Skye didn’t shy from giving it to her, gaping her mouth open for their tongues to entangle decadently, wetly.
Celene drank so much tea that Skye began associating any brew with their kisses. Peppermint, chamomile, ginger, especially the erva-doce Celene’s mother brought from her last trip to Brazil. All stimulants to Skye’s palate, reminders of their connection.
She moaned when Celene rested the weight of her upper body on her. Celene roamed a hand over the skin exposed by the cut of Skye’s top—Aisha didn’t have this access in mind when she crocheted it. Skye grinned, reciprocating by palming smooth, firm skin under Celene’s shirt.
Tumbling in the richness of Celene’s tongue and a thigh finding its way between her legs, Skye allowed her hips to rock for a generous few minutes. How Celene handled Skye’s body kind of stunned her; she could hardly resist. Though she wanted them to take their time, even more necessary when a sister and brother-in-law could come back any minute.
But she also had an incredibly sexy girlfriend. They shouldn’t squander this private time. Skye traced her fingers around Celene’s sides and whispered, “I bet you’re really good in bed.”
Celene scraped her teeth against Skye’s neck. “We’re in bed now.”
“You know what I mean.”
“When did you last have sex?”
Skye waited for Celene to rise, to reply, “My last girlfriend of five months. Started here in Yielding, turned to long distance, and we accepted that wasn’t sustainable.”
Celene nodded solemnly. “I’d never done long distance. Might be a flaw in me, but I need someone I can kiss and touch. Like this.”
Skye craved Celene and all the things they could do in bed, on the floor, in her fantasies of the break room. A few hours to Manhattan weren’t the worst commute in the world. “Can I know why you and Quinn had issues?”
“Oh, god, we don’t have that kind of time,” Celene replied, features narrowing in thought. “A big one was sex. She and I weren’t very compatible. Accepting that was humbling.”
“Yet you wanted to marry her.”
Celene shrugged. “I loved her.”
Skye shimmied onto her side, too. Jealousy was an ugly quality—Luce drilled that into her. She couldn’t help it, though, to pry a bit more. “How weren’t you compatible?”
“Everything would start okay. Foreplay, kissing, touching over clothes.” Celene blinked like she needed to recovermore details. “Then, when we had sex, she held back almost compulsively. I’d talk dirty to her, assure her she was doing well. Nothing broke that barrier. When one of us would come, sometimes her eyes glazed over.”
Skye patted for Celene’s hand and held it tightly. “That marriage wasn’t meant to be.”
“Nowthatwas a fake relationship.” Celene brought Skye’s knuckles to her mouth to kiss. Behind their hands, that roguish smile returned. “It was a shame, too. She was excellent at oral.”
Heat flaring, Skye spoke her mind. “Are you trying to make me jealous? What if I bragged about June?”
“June. The June who hangs out at your shop.” Celene smiled, though her eyes held an intensity that revved up Skye’s heartbeat. A sharp and vulnerable gaze. “June Christiansen, who has roots throughout Yielding and drives you around in her work van? June, who built your bed? That June?”
If Celene’s jealousy had been any more unnecessary, Skye would laugh for days. Maybe this was how ridiculous Skye sounded, stressing over an ex-fiancée who wasn’t even a friend. “You have nothing to worry about. Seeing you after all these years, you seemed inaccessible, a little forbidden. Truth is, I was so into you that Thalia, Zini,andJune didn’t ever believe me when I denied it.”
Celene pursed her lips, and Skye couldn’t tell if she was satisfied. “June could tell I was turning you on when I played with your neck.”
“Embarrassing. I wasn’t ready to be on display like that.”
“At first it bothered me, then it gave me confidence. Without trying, I found a sweet spot.” And like a maestro, Celene led them to a favorable topic. Fingertips denting into Skye’s nape, Celene smiled at her immediate shudder. Her short nails scratched there, too, intent on ending her. “What else stimulatesyou? Should I read your book for tips? Do you want an assertive, dominant woman to show you real passion?”
Skye closed her eyes, doomed to writhe and whine. If she could speak intelligibly, it’d come out as a plea to let these insecurities go. June hadn’t discovered the neck hack on her own; Skye told her, and even then, she never utilized it correctly. Her ex-girlfriend’s touches lacked finesse; they fumbled.
Celene needed nothing but her body language, kissing her for several minutes until she’d done some writhing of her own. The overcast sky contributed to the sensuous air, etching Celene in a light Skye would never forget. Celene held Skye’s hip, thumb applying pressure as she pulled away. “Can I have more of that naughty side of you from the ice cream shoppe? If I called you late at night with only one thing on my mind, would that scare you away?”
Skye’s aroused brain reached boiling point by now. She stammered out, forgetting the order of her questions. “Yes. To...naughty. Um, I mean no, not scary.”
