Power Play Read online

  Victoria leaned against her, wrapping her arms around her neck. When Tate teased the nipple with her tongue, Victoria grabbed her hair and pulled her mouth closer. After what she thought wasn’t nearly long enough, she shifted her attention to Victoria’s other breast for equal attention. She wasn’t sure, but Tate thought she heard Victoria call her name.

  “Hmm?”

  “I have to lie down or we’ll end up on the floor,” Victoria said between gasps.

  “My thoughts exactly.” Tate dragged her mouth away from Victoria’s breasts. She wanted to rip the remaining clothes from their bodies but for some reason gave in to the conflicting emotion of wanting to go slow, to draw out the experience. When she lowered Victoria to the bed, she knew she had made the right decision.

  In spite of their height difference, Victoria fit perfectly under her. Tate returned to Victoria’s lips, and then Victoria took charge, exploring her mouth and tongue with a thoroughness that almost sent Tate into oblivion. Tate was so overcome with desire that she almost forgot her purpose, which was to feel Victoria’s naked body against hers.

  The next thing Tate knew, almost every inch of their bodies was touching. Victoria had long legs but their torsos were almost exactly the same length. Victoria raised her body and slowly lowered it again until their nipples touched. The combination of hard arousal and soft flesh merged like yin and yang. Victoria arched against her, their pubes rocking against each other, expressing their desire.

  Tate pulled away from Victoria’s grasp, trailing kisses up and down her neck, stopping to pay particular attention to those areas where she discovered that Victoria was exceptionally sensitive. Each time she moaned or moved beneath her was a new experience in ecstasy for Tate. She had given countless women pleasure but none had excited her like Victoria was doing right now, and she welcomed Victoria’s touch. Exploring a woman, making her cry out in passion was the foreplay Tate usually needed to climax. She was more into it for what she needed than for what the woman was getting. But with Victoria it wasn’t like that. Not at all.

  She wanted to please Victoria for the sheer pleasure of pleasing her. She wanted to kiss her senseless, taste every inch of her, feel her warmth, touch her deep inside. She could make love to her for hours and still not get enough.

  Victoria, however, had other ideas. She used her long legs as leverage and flipped Tate onto her back, and when Victoria’s thigh pressed against her and her mouth latched on to her nipple, Tate exploded. Lights flashed behind her eyelids and a roar slammed into her head. Wave after wave crashed over her and she couldn’t catch her breath. The world seemed to fall away and only the strong arms wrapped around her supported her. One orgasm followed another as Victoria’s hand replaced her leg, rubbing her clitoris in rhythm with her own thrusts.

  Finally, Tate had to stop or risk death by overdose from the sensations cascading through her. She slid her hand down Victoria’s arm, grasping her wrist loosely. She didn’t have the strength to pull it away, but Victoria got the message and slowly withdrew her fingers from between her legs. Victoria held her close as the aftershock of her multiple orgasms settled.

  The emotions threatening to spill out of Tate overwhelmed her. This was more than just physical release. It was something very different. She felt it deep inside. It touched her core and she didn’t know what to do with it. Sex had always been more than just an enjoyable experience. She considered it as normal a need as food or water. But this was far from just sex, though Tate had no idea what it was.

  “Wow,” Victoria whispered into her neck. Tate found it difficult to breathe and chose to blame it on Victoria’s body on top of her.

  “That’s one way to phrase it.” Actually it was an understatement but Tate wasn’t ready to admit it.

  “I didn’t realize you were that close.” Victoria moved so the majority of her weight no longer pressed on top of Tate.

  “Neither did I,” Tate admitted, embarrassed by her lack of self-control. “It came out of nowhere, so to speak.” She had to fight to maintain eye contact when Victoria looked at her.

  “Well, you can come out of nowhere anytime,” Victoria replied, lifting her eyebrows up and down a few times.

  Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable and vulnerable, Tate shifted and quickly reversed their positions. This was where she felt most in control. On top, in charge. She was the aggressor and wasn’t comfortable in any other position, which was what surprised her most about her recent orgasms. She was never able to climax with a woman on top of her like Victoria had been. She felt trapped and needed the woman either beside her using her hand or between her legs using her mouth. Even then more times than not lately she had to concentrate on what was happening in order to come.

  Unwilling to deal with her troubling thoughts, Tate traversed the tall body beneath her. Victoria was uninhibited in her response to Tate’s caresses. She moaned when Tate nibbled on her nipple, sighed when she kissed the small of her back, and thrust her hips toward any part of Tate that came even close to her clitoris.

  Victoria’s legs went on forever and Tate wrapped them around her neck for the sheer joy of the picture in her mind. Victoria grabbed the sheet in each hand as Tate finally settled her mouth on her. Tate pulled back when she sensed that Victoria was seconds away from coming. She was rewarded with another moan and Victoria rising to meet her mouth again.

  “God, Tate, you’re killing me,” Victoria said softly.

  Tate didn’t reply, too focused on what she was doing with her mouth to bother to reply. Victoria tasted delicious and felt exquisite. She was soft and hard in all the right places. Tate ran the tip of her tongue over folds, peaks, and valleys, and dipped into warm wetness. The tension in Victoria increased as she moved her tongue in and out of her. Finally, after just a few plunges inside her Victoria grabbed her head, held it in place, and cried out.

  *

  Victoria woke to the feel of an arm wrapped around her and a warm body pressed against her back. Tate breathed evenly onto her neck, and Victoria didn’t move for fear of waking her. What had she done? For God’s sake, what had she done? Images of the night before flooded her brain like water over a dam. Legs intertwined, hands, lips, mouths and tongues exploring every inch of her body while she delighted in Tate’s young, firm flesh. Tate was an amazing, enthusiastic, and unrelenting lover. She demanded from Victoria as much as she gave, and when Victoria was certain she couldn’t have another orgasm, Tate proved her wrong.

  She tilted her head to look at the clock. It was just after seven and the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. She could barely remember the last time she had woken with a woman in her bed. Even with Carole, when they had sex, one of them would get up and go home almost before their orgasm was over. She had thought it satisfying until last night with Tate.

  What exactly was last night? They had sex, sure, by God did they ever. But why? What did it mean? What did it signify going forward? What were they supposed to do now? Were they supposed to sit across from each other at Braxton’s meetings and act like it never happened? What did Tate expect from her? What did she expect from Tate? Would they do it again?

  Tate pulled her closer and Victoria tensed, those and dozens of other questions bombarding her. She pushed them aside and tried to figure out how she could get out of bed without waking Tate. She didn’t know what to say to her and knew it was chicken to slip out on her. Fuck, she thought. This was her house. It wasn’t as if she could simply leave. Tate must have sensed her trepidation.

  “Relax.” Tate’s voice was husky from sleep. “As much as I want a repeat of last night, give me a few minutes to wake up and then I’ll leave.”

  Victoria didn’t know what to do. It was childish to act this way. They were consenting adults, obviously attracted to each other. No big deal. Happens all the time. Nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s as natural as stars in the sky. She was a mature woman. Oh, God, she was more than ten years older than Tate, she thought, wanting to crawl under the ca
rpet. For crying out loud, she was the one who invited Tate in. She should be handling this better.

  Not knowing what else to say, Victoria asked, “Would you like some coffee?” She could certainly use some. Maybe the influx of caffeine would jolt some sense into her.

  “Only if someone besides you gets up, makes it, and brings it in.” Tate snuggled closer, the tops of her thighs flush with the back of Victoria’s legs. “I don’t want you to go anywhere,” Tate added, eliminating any doubt.

  Victoria settled back into the warm embrace and tried to let her mind relax as well. Disjointed thoughts, accusations, recriminations, and doubt left little room to enjoy the sensation of being in Tate’s arms. Why couldn’t she just simply enjoy the morning after a night of fabulous sex with a very attractive woman? She certainly enjoyed it while it was happening. She couldn’t help but finally smile.

  Her body must have given off some other signal other than a smile because Tate asked, “What?”

  “Nothing.” Victoria admitted to herself that last night was the most intense experience of her life, but she refused to tell Tate. Jeez, like Tate didn’t already know.

  “You’re amazing, Victoria,” Tate commented, her voice a little more clear.

  “Thanks. Right back at ’cha.” Victoria couldn’t help but chuckle over her reply. It sounded like they were complimenting each other over a game of tennis, not hour after hour of astounding sex.

  Tate began to nibble the back of her neck, causing shivers to run down her spine. Victoria hadn’t noticed when Tate had shifted her hand so that it cradled her breast, but her hard nipple was certainly aware of it. And speaking of hard nipples, Tate’s were pressed against her back and left little to the imagination as to her level of arousal.

  “You know, I’m not really a morning person,” Tate whispered into her ear.

  “But?” Victoria prodded. She knew where Tate was going with this, and even though a moment ago she had misgivings about the entire episode, she didn’t want her to stop.

  “But you make me want to wake up.” Tate’s hand left her breast and began to explore her stomach in tiny circles.

  Victoria caught her breath when Tate’s fingers drifted lower. She lay back into Tate, giving her more access to her body. “Does that mean you want coffee now?” Tate’s wandering hand dipped between her legs and slipped easily inside her. Victoria barely stifled a moan of sheer pleasure at the contact. She was more than ready, and when Tate’s fingers slid out, then back in again and repeated the movement, she gave in.

  “No, I want you. Again,” Tate said, as if it were a complete surprise.

  Soon Victoria came again, this time in the soft pre-dawn light. The sun cast shadows over the wall that reminded her of waves softly rolling to the shore. Her climax was just the opposite—building from her toes, coursing to her center like a flame licking fuel. She cried out, reaching behind her to hold Tate closer. Together they rocked, Tate’s fingers buried deep inside her, her pussy rubbing against Victoria’s ass. Tate came after Victoria’s third orgasm.

  *

  When Victoria woke again, she was alone. The place where Tate had lain was cool to her touch, telling Victoria that she had left some time ago. She listened for the sound of the shower and, hearing nothing but silence, pushed the covers back and slid out of bed.

  She had to grab the nightstand for balance, every muscle in her legs making it very clear they had been used in ways they weren’t accustomed to. She couldn’t help but smile when she thought what her friends would say if they knew. She half wanted to say something, just to see their reaction and bask in their attention, but she had confessed to Tate she wasn’t the type of woman to kiss and tell. Shit, until last night she didn’t have anything to talk about.

  Grabbing her robe from the hook in the closet, she quickly checked herself in the bathroom mirror. Her hair was a mess, but her eyes were clear and she didn’t look any different after a night of sex. Returning to the bedroom she noticed that her clothes were neatly folded on the cedar chest and Tate’s were conspicuously gone. She glanced up just as Tate walked in carrying two cups. The steam drifting from the top as well as the familiar aroma told her that Tate had found the coffeepot. She smiled at her shyly, her robe slipping off one shoulder.

  Tate handed Victoria the cup and gave in to the temptation to kiss the bare flesh. Victoria shuddered under her lips. “I thought you could use this. I know I can. I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t have to snoop much. Everything was pretty much where I expected it to be.” Tate couldn’t believe she was rambling. She was nervous and didn’t know why. She was never nervous the morning after. If she suspected the woman might become clingy or demanding, she always left before it ever had a chance to happen. With Victoria, she wanted to stay all day.

  “No, not at all. It smells wonderful.” Victoria took the cup in both hands.

  Their fingers touched and a jolt of desire rocketed to Tate’s crotch. She had to concentrate so she wouldn’t drop her cup. “You were sleeping and I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful and content.” In fact, Tate had wanted to wake Victoria with soft kisses but satisfied herself with watching her sleep for a few minutes before she got up.

  Victoria crossed to the bed and sat on the edge, drawing one leg under her. “At least I wasn’t snoring.”

  “I never said that,” Tate countered, enjoying the expression of horror that flashed across Victoria’s face. She had to laugh. “Don’t worry, you weren’t snoring. As a matter of fact, you were so still I wasn’t sure you were even breathing. Kind of threw me there for a minute until you moved.”

  “Sorry.” Head averted, Victoria took a sip of her coffee.

  Tate sat next to Victoria on the bed, slightly unnerved by the uncomfortable silence between them. A thousand thoughts were jumbled in her brain and she was trying to make sense of them. While she had watched Victoria sleep and contemplated the coffee dripping into the carafe, she realized everything felt right. The time they spent together, their getting to know one another in Brussels and Hong Kong, her nursing Victoria while she was sick in Phoenix were some of the most memorable experiences in her life. However, she couldn’t dwell on them too long. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table.

  “I hate to do this, but I’ve got to go.”

  “Okay,” Victoria was quick to respond.

  “No, really. It sounds like an excuse to get out of here but I have an appointment in an hour that I can’t miss. I’m going to be late as it is.” She did have an appointment with Clayton, one he demanded she attend in his office this morning. She would be late, but for the first time she didn’t care.

  “Sure, I understand.”

  Tate followed Victoria out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Her mind flashed back to the last time they were on the stairs together, heading in the opposite direction and intent on something altogether different. Leaving her cup on the counter, Tate hesitated, not quite sure what Victoria expected from her or what she expected from Victoria. When Victoria seemed equally uncertain, Tate stepped forward and placed a light kiss on her cheek.

  “Thanks for inviting me in.” Victoria flushed with embarrassment. She lifted Victoria’s chin so she could look into her eyes. “You’re a wonderful, exciting woman, Victoria, and I’d like to do this again.” She saw the doubt creep into her eyes.

  “Tate—”

  “Just think about it. I’ll talk to you in a few days.” Tate placed a contained kiss on Victoria’s lips. When Victoria’s mouth immediately opened, Tate was barely able to restrain herself from picking up where they left off earlier that morning. She headed for the door before she convinced herself to stay.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tate walked into her meeting with Clayton later that morning feeling smug. While she waited for him to end his phone conversation she redecorated his office in her mind to suit her tastes. The massive oak desk he currently had his feet on, the top scarred from the wear of his favorite shoes, would be the fir
st thing to go. Though Clayton evidently sat behind the monstrosity to compensate for his small stature, it made him look ridiculous. She would lighten the décor with lots of chrome and sleek lines of modern furniture and accent pieces. The rattle of the phone receiver settling into the cradle drew her attention back to the present. Clayton was eyeing her with seeming annoyance.

  “Well?”

  “Drake will be out of the running before the end of the week.” Her source’s information and what she had gotten from Victoria’s briefcase would not only harm Drake’s attempts to acquire Braxton; it would cripple it and most likely cause the company to close. Joni had wanted to consummate their business transaction last night, but Tate’s libido was focused on someone else. Joni went home frustrated but employed, while Tate went to Victoria’s.

  Since leaving Victoria’s house Tate had spent most of her time figuring out exactly what to do with the time bomb Joni had handed her.

  “Really? You sound pretty cocky.”

  At one time Tate would have thought that was a compliment. Now she considered it demeaning. “I know what I’m doing, Clayton.”

  “You’d better, Monroe. I told you I want Braxton and I won’t stop until I get it.” In no time, he was practically foaming at the mouth.

  Tate stood, uncharacteristically unable to control her temper. She had always respected Clayton and his approach to business. It was often cutthroat, sometimes ruthless, and occasionally just this side of legal. And more often than not it was immoral. But she knew all that when she came to work for him years ago. That was why she specifically targeted him and his company for a position there. She wanted the success Clayton Sumner had attained, and if she had to copy his every move to get it, then so be it. That he couldn’t see that even now was insulting.