Page 101 of Sanctuary

Lori tilted her head and stuck out her bottom lip. “That can’t be everything you’ve got.”

“It’s everything I can take for you, but it’s nowhere near what I can give.” Gabe sat up, put her hands under Lori’s armpits, and lifted her effortlessly onto the bed beside her. She leaned onto her side and began to unbutton Lori’s shirt. “I think it’s time you got naked too, don’t you?”

Lori pressed her hand over Gabe’s, suddenly aware of the stark difference in their bodies, something she’d never been self-conscious about until she was lying beside the living, breathing female version of Adonis. “Mm, maybe not.”

“Please,” Gabe said quietly as if reading her hesitation. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Please trust me.”

“But…I don’t look like you, under these clothes.”

“I don’t want you to look like me.” Gabe kissed her lightly and shook her head. “Your body is stunning.” She caressed Lori’s cheek. “But if you don’t want to, that’s okay.”

“Oh, I want to. I really want to. I just—” she gestured wildly, “y’know, haven’t seen perfection in real life before.” She pushed up and got off the bed, determined not to let this uncharacteristic stumble keep her from making the most of this connection. Everything that had happened in the past two months had been building up to this moment, and she wasn’t about to self-sabotage with an unfamiliar lack of confidence. But then her confidence had never really extended to the bedroom. “I should tell you that I’ve never really been that into sex.” The words were out before she had time to censor them. Way to kill the mood.

Gabe sat up and wrinkled her nose. “So…what just happened was?”

“Fantastic.” Lori smiled. “I should have said that I’ve never been that into sex before. Before you.” She allowed her gaze to drift over Gabe again and throbbed hard in response. “You’ve kind of made me feel like a horny teenager on spring break.”

Gabe grinned. “I don’t think you want me to apologize for that?”

“God, no,” Lori said. “Definitely not.” She unbuttoned the rest of her shirt and let it drop to the floor. “It’s all just a bit new. Does that make sense?”

Gabe nodded. “So what would you like to do?”

“More of this, with you.” She unhooked her bra, slowly gaining in confidence when she saw the hungry look in Gabe’s eyes when she uncovered her breasts.

“I’m not sure I’ve got the self-control to keep asking if you’re sure,” Gabe said. “You drove me crazy at the pool hall and in that restaurant hallway. I’m desperate to touch you and fucking desperate to be inside you.”

Lori threw her bra to the floor and quickly shed the rest of her clothes.

Gabe smiled widely. “You are fucking gorgeous.”

Lori moved closer, and Gabe put her hands on Lori’s hips and kissed her belly.

“I’ve wanted you like this so long,” Gabe whispered and looked up into Lori’s eyes.

She’d felt the same. She still did. And God, did she want to see how much she could take; would she be satiated before Gabe’s stamina gave out?

Let’s find out. She pushed Gabe back onto the bed and straddled her, and the heat of Gabe’s stomach met the heat of the center.

Gabe wiggled her eyebrows. “Feels like someone’s ready for this.”

Lori rocked her hips back and forth, making Gabe’s abs slick with her excitement. She balled her fist into Gabe’s short hair. “What’re you going do about that?” she asked and got up on all fours, her breast hovering over Gabe’s mouth.

Gabe put her hand between Lori’s legs, pressed against her opening, then slipped two fingers inside her. “I’m going to do this for as long as you can take it.”

Gabe fucked her deep and slow, and Lori drove herself down onto Gabe’s hand. Any lingering doubts about anything and everything soon faded into the background as she became hyper-focused on the sensations darting through her body. Every cell sparked to life, every nerve ending tingled in anticipation, and her blood coursed hot and wild through her veins like a stallion running free. With Gabe inside her, she came alive in a way she’d never felt before, never thought possible.

“Gabe…” She moaned, feeling every inch like a woman re-awakened from a sexual slumber. “That’s so good,” she whispered around each penetrating thrust. But it wasn’t just her body; it was like Gabe was piercing the armor around her soul. She looked down at Gabe, who was staring at her intently as if there was nothing else in the world she’d rather be looking at, and her intensity made Lori’s heart soar, made her feel like the center of Gabe’s universe.

Gabe entangled her other hand in Lori’s hair. “Come for me,” she murmured.

Gabe’s quiet instruction brushed away the last of her resistance to their connection. Whatever had gone before was the past, and all Lori wanted to do was concentrate on the future, their future, and more—so much more—of this.

She rocked against Gabe’s fingers, and the wave continued to build inexorably toward its break. Every fiber of her being lost its density, and her body felt like it might float away on her next breath. Heat rushed over every inch of her skin, gathering and flooding to her very core. And through it all, Gabe’s eyes were fixed on hers, solidifying their physical and spiritual connection, melding their bodies and souls to become inexplicably linked and forever unbreakable.

And she just let it go and let it be. No more questions. No more second-guessing. And no more waiting. The rest of her life was here, ready for her to unleash her inhibitions and grab hold of it with both hands.

The wave rolled over her with immeasurable power, and she tumbled gratefully into its energy, washed out and simultaneously reinvigorated on the sands of a new life. She collapsed onto Gabe and moaned against her chest. “That was beautiful.”

---