Chapter Thirty-Five

Chris was surprised to see smoke coming from her chimney when she drove up. She was suddenly nervous, knowing Jessie was inside.

Jessie was standing with her back to the fire, waiting. Their eyes met across the room and identical smiles touched their faces.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Nice and toasty in here," Chris said as she moved to the fire to join Jessie.

"Yes. I've made Dillon quite happy, I think," Jessie said, motioning to the cat who was curled up contentedly on the sofa. He opened one eye and scowled at Chris before closing it again.

"I see he's still pissed at me."

They were quiet and Chris let her eyes travel around the room, noting that the table was set for dinner, wine already opened and ready. She finally let her eyes rest on the anxious ones of Jessie, trying to read them, but they were guarded, probably much like her own.

"Did you have a busy day?" Jessie finally asked.

"Yes. And cold. The snow's coming down pretty good now. Should be great skiing this weekend."

"I guess there will be a lot of people in town, at the lodge," Jessie added.

Chris nodded, wondering why they were having this inane conversation, knowing it wasn't what either of them wanted to talk about. She sighed, not knowing where to start.

"McKenna, why don't you get a shower," Jessie suggested, wrinkling up her nose.

"And what are you saying?" Chris asked with a grin. "I stink?"

But Jessie had moved to the kitchen, making a pretense of checking on dinner. Chris left her without another word, wondering why the conversation seemed so strained between them. If she wasn't so damn hungry, she would drag Jessie into the bedroom and strip her naked. That was really want she wanted to do. But, probably uncivilized, she thought. Then she grinned. Dinner first, then bed.

She lingered in the shower. The hot water felt too good after being cold all day long. She slipped on baggy sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, donning only thick socks for her feet.

Jessie was again waiting by the fire, this time with a glass of wine. She motioned with her head to the table and Chris picked up her own glass before walking over. She stopped just short of Jessie, then took the remaining step to her, slowly bending her head and kissing the lips she had tried so hard not to think about all day.

Jessie closed her eyes and sighed, savoring their first kiss. She wasn't sure how to greet Chris, what Chris expected of her, so she did nothing. She was oddly disappointed when Chris arrived and did nothing as well. She didn't want to take the time for small talk and dinner. She only wanted what they'd shared last night. After a lifetime of one-night stands, she was nearly insatiable for Chris's gentle, tender lovemaking.

"Okay?"

"For now." Jessie nodded. "Are you hungry?"

"Are we talking about food?"

"We're talking about anything you want."

Chris raised an eyebrow.

"Is dinner ready?"

"It can be. Or we can turn the oven off," Jessie suggested.

Chris leaned over and touched her lips, this time lingering, her tongue licking off the trace of wine on Jessie's lips. Jessie's mouth opened, capturing Chris's tongue and sucking it into her mouth. That was all the encouragement Chris needed. She blindly set her wineglass on the mantel, taking Jessie into her arms and holding her tight against her.

"Chris, please," Jessie whispered into her mouth. Her hands moved under Chris's shirt, touching warm skin before moving to her breasts, lightly raking her fingers over taut nipples.

"I vote we turn the oven off," Chris said, her voice husky with desire. She took Jessie's hand and led her to the bedroom, pausing at the oven on their way.

They stood in the darkness of the bedroom, listening to each other draw breath. Chris reached out slowly and touched Jessie's cheek, lightly running her fingertips across her skin, trying to memorize every line.

"You're so beautiful," Chris whispered. "Before I met you, I used to stare at your picture, wondering what you would feel like, what your lips would taste like," she confessed. "You looked so sad."

"I was. I was dead inside. There was no joy in my life. I never thought I could feel this way. I never thought someone could touch me the way you do," Jessie said quietly. She reached for Chris, pulling her mouth to her own. Their gentle kiss turned hungry, and she slipped her tongue into Chris's mouth, swallowing the moan that followed. They broke apart long enough to shed their shirts, then mouths reunited as their breasts pressed together.

Chris pulled her to the bed, not bothering with the covers and Jessie settled her weight between Chris's opened thighs, pressing hard into her.

"This was the longest day of my life," Jessie whispered. Her mouth moved wetly down Chris's throat, stopping only when her lips closed over an erect nipple.

Chris arched into her, her hands cupping Jessie's hips and pulling her more firmly against her. She rolled her head back, eyes closed tightly as Jessie feasted. Crazily, she wondered how she had ever lived without this. A low moan escaped as Jessie moved to her other breast and she moved her hands lightly across Jessie's bare back before clutching her head and holding her closer against her breast. She felt Jessie take more of her breast inside and she moaned again, her hips rising again to meet Jessie's thrusts as she ground into her.

Jessie's hand slipped easily inside Chris's sweatpants and she found what she wanted. Hot wetness surrounded her fingers, and she drove them deep inside Chris, feeling her tighten around them. Oh, so wet, she thought. She wanted her mouth there but Chris's hips rose again to meet her thrusting fingers. Instead, her mouth found Chris's waiting lips, her tongue mimicking her fingers as she plunged harder and harder inside Chris, riding the wave with Chris as her hips bucked against her hand.

Chris's hips moved frantically as she met each thrust of Jessie's fingers, driving them harder into her until she simply exploded under Jessie's weight. Her scream was primal, long and hard, and she clutched Jessie to her as her tremors subsided.

Jessie felt the perspiration cool on her back as she rested against Chris, her breath still coming hard as the needs of her own body clamored to be heard. She reached down and unbuttoned her own jeans, shoving them haphazardly down her legs as she pulled Chris's sweats completely off. Cotton briefs followed and she pressed her naked body to Chris, hips grinding hard against Chris as she sought her own release.

"Let me, sweetheart," Chris whispered and her hand moved between them. She was nearly overwhelmed by the wetness she found and her fingers moved into hot fire, stroking the swollen center quickly as Jessie's hips moved against her.

It only took one touch and Jessie felt herself slipping, tumbling over the edge quickly. She came hard and fast, her cry loud to her own ears as she lay spent on top of Chris.

"I'm sorry," Jessie whispered when she found her breath. "I couldn't wait."

"Please don't tell me you're sorry. That was beautiful." She kissed Jessie's damp forehead. "We've got all the time in the world."

"There'll never be enough time," Jessie said softly as she curled next to Chris. "I could make love with you every day for the rest of my life... and it still wouldn't be enough."

Chris took a sharp breath. Those words, she was not expecting. Unconsciously, she tightened her arms.

"You know, I was a little nervous about tonight," Chris confessed. "I didn't know if last night could be repeated or if you would even want to."

"I wanted you to walk in that door tonight and drag me off to the bedroom without a single word spoken," Jessie said lightly. She stroked the smooth skin on Chris's belly, wondering at her sudden need to talk, to share her feelings... and her doubts. "Can I tell you something, Chris?"

"Of course."

"You're the first person that I've ever been with twice." She looked up, just able to see the expression on Chris's face in the darkness. It was one of sadness. "You're also the first person who's ever made love to me because they truly wanted to. It wasn't just sex. And you're the first one I've ever made love to," she finished in a whisper. "What I'm feeling is so completely new to me, I'm not sure what to call it." She swallowed hard before continuing. "I don't know what love is, Chris. But what I feel when I'm with you is complete happiness, contentment, joy. And passion. Passion I didn't even know I had. And not just when we're like this, touching. Sometimes I look into your blue eyes, and I just want to go there, go inside you, let you surround me and protect me. And I know you would. You've been the one person I could count on, the one person who hasn't let me down."

Chris quietly rubbed Jessie's back while she spoke, her words touching Chris in places no one had been before. Her heart ached for this woman who had so much pain in her life. And so little love.

"Jessie, I'll always be someone you can count on. No matter what happens here or what happens when you leave, if you need me, you just say the word."

"Why, Chris? Why would you do that?" Jessie pulled away, trying so hard to read Chris's eyes.

"Because I..." Fm in love with you. Chris's throat closed completely, stifling the words that threatened to spill out. In love? "I care about you, Jessie. What happens to you matters to me."