Chapter Thirty-one

A car drove up before they got to Tully’s SUV, and a young blonde waved to Jo from the driver’s seat.

“I’ll find my way back to your folks’, guys,” Jo said, “but I called a friend who I might be staying with until I decide what I’m doing with my house.”

“Have fun,” Libby told her.

After they left, Tully pressed Libby to her and rested her chin on the top of Libby’s head. “I have an idea, Mrs. Badeaux.”

“I’m getting some of my own, Mrs. Badeaux.” Libby bit her gently on her chest just above her heart. “We have a house with a pine tree in the pool, but the new bed looked really good the last time we were there. Care to go have an official christening?”

“We haven’t been together for years, but you can already read my mind?”

“I could spend the afternoon trying to read your mind, or I could spend it trying to memorize every inch of you. I’m sure there are some spots that I haven’t gotten to yet.”

Tully laughed and kissed the top of her head while letting her hand drop down to Libby’s backside. “The parts you have gotten to know well are incredibly happy, though.”

The drive to the house knocked some of the playfulness out of Libby as they went through some areas that obviously had gotten about five feet of water. On one block the houses had stayed like theirs, high and dry; then in the next she saw small piles of Sheetrock already sitting out front waiting for the trash man. While the extent of the damage was disheartening, the little signs of life gave her hope that the misery would eventually end.

“Can I tell you something?” Libby stopped Tully from getting out of the car.

“You can say anything you want, baby, you know that.”

“I want us to come back here, no matter how hard it is at first. You were right about that. We belong here, and I want to build our family in this house.” They had parked in front, and the place appeared as serene as it would on any other summer day. “I love you, and the one thing I admire about you is that you never back away from a fight.”

“Let’s go get started on that. Besides, I want to show you something.” Tully opened her car door and went around to open Libby’s. Libby hadn’t been on her feet very long when Tully picked her up and carried her up the stairs to the porch. “I’ve gotten such a reputation of being a workaholic that I don’t want you to ever think I’m not romantic, so I thought today would be the perfect day to start proving that to you in spectacular form.”

“Planning on sweeping me off my feet, huh?”

“I’m planning on so much more than that.” Tully stopped at the door, and when Libby bent to turn the knob, Tully took a step back. “I think the elves will get it, baby.”

“Elves?” The door opened and Bailey and Ralph stood there smiling, as if they knew a secret that was bursting to come out. “Elves,” Libby said again.

“Elves who’ll be leaving with their grandmother, but helpful nonetheless,” Tully said, giving her kids a wink.

“Have fun, guys, and we’ll be fine, I’m sure,” Bailey said. She grabbed Ralph by the back of his collar and dragged him out. “Since you’re holding the girl, I guess you don’t have time to recap what happened today, huh?”

“Tomorrow, Bailey Bean, I promise.” Tully kissed both of the kids and nodded in her mom’s direction when she drove up.

“They all know we’re going in there to have sex, don’t they?” As Libby made the comment she felt the heat rise from her chest all the way to her ears.

“In the future we might not make such blatant declarations, but today I think we deserve to have a good time no matter who knows about it.”

“It’s still kind of embarrassing.”

Tully carried Libby through the open door and pushed it closed with her foot. The house was still warm, but a slight breeze came in from the windows the kids had opened since the electricity was still not up and running. Libby didn’t say anything until Tully stopped at the entrance to the master suite. The candles, the bowl of strawberries next to the bed, and the soft music from the battery-operated radio made her heart overflow.

“They’ll most probably tease us mercilessly from now until the end of time, but today they wanted to give us a wedding present,” Tully said. She sat at the edge of the bed, which was covered with fresh new linens, and kissed Libby’s cheek. “It’s their way of showing us how much they love us, and welcoming you into my life.”

“I know sometimes you feel like you could’ve done a better job when it comes to Bailey and Ralph, but they’re great kids.” Libby put her hand on Tully’s cheek and kissed her on the lips. “That shows you did a great job.”

“I didn’t think I’d succeeded in making them proud of me until just now. You made that possible for me.” Tully leaned over and laid her down. “I love you, and I want to show you how much.”

As Tully leaned over her, Libby started on the buttons of the blue shirt Tully had picked to wear with her jeans. The overwhelming urge to feel Tully’s skin pressed up to every naked inch of her took Libby by surprise, but Tully appeared more surprised when, after the second button, Libby just ripped the shirt open, sending a shower of buttons to the wood floor.

“Remind me to order some rugs for this room,” she told Tully. Tully’s deep laugh as she took off her pants made Libby’s nipples harden to the point of pain as they fought the confinement of her bra. Tully sat her up and helped the situation by unhooking the undergarment with one hand.

Any notion of decorating fled Libby’s mind as the rest of their clothes landed on the floor. A groan laced with want escaped her as Tully’s lips latched around her left nipple and sucked it past her teeth and into her warm mouth.

“What else would you like for this room?” Tully asked after she released Libby’s nipple with a soft pop.

“I’d love a few things, but they have nothing to do with decorating.”

Tully had yet to touch her anywhere below her breasts, but as Libby straddled Tully’s legs she could feel her clitoris pulsing in a way that begged to be touched.

“You are so beautiful,” Tully said, her teasing put aside as she stopped and simply gazed at Libby’s face. “I could tell you the exact moment I first saw you.”

“There’s a chance I could sound really sappy, but I can tell you that story too.” Libby ran her fingers along Tully’s jaw, then just under the skin around the bottom of her eyes. “I don’t know how many cups of coffee I served in a morning, but it was enough to make the people I handed those cups to become almost invisible after a while. But when you talked to me over that counter, I fell into your eyes.”

“I felt the same way. You had your hair in a ponytail and looked a little frazzled with the pace, but your smile just set off your face.”

Libby ran her fingers back down until she linked them behind Tully’s neck. “All those days and all those cups of coffee, you were the one thing I always waited for. It’s childish, I know, but you always made me feel that someone thought about me, which made me feel special.”

“You are special, love, and what makes me the luckiest woman alive is that you’re mine.” Libby’s nipples had softened a bit, but at Tully’s declaration they became rock hard again.

“Prove it to me.”

As the words left Libby’s mouth, Tully squeezed her hand between them and in one short thrust had two fingers buried deep inside her. When the palm of her hand brushed against Libby’s clitoris, it instantly sparked the beginning of her orgasm.

With her knees on the bed and her hands behind Tully’s neck, Libby thrust her hips forward and groaned. She tried to pay attention to Tully’s words, but she could concentrate only on Tully’s fingers sliding in and out and how good Tully’s skin felt pressed against her. The last thing she wanted was for the sensations to end, but she couldn’t help speeding up her hips and claiming the touch that was hers. She pulled Tully’s hair as she reached the pinnacle, coming down on Tully’s hand and enjoying the way her clitoris pulsed against Tully as the spasms died down.

“This feels so good that I may demand that the honeymoon not end,” Libby said, feeling as limp as overcooked pasta.

“That sounds like a hardship.” Tully stopped laughing only when Libby pinched her nipple and tugged.

“Don’t make me get rough with you, Badeaux.”

“You might want to remember where I have my hand before you go making threats, beautiful.” For emphasis Tully pushed her fingers in far enough to make Libby gasp.

“If that’s your form of punishment, I might take up threatening you as a hobby.” Libby smiled innocently at her, then put her index finger on Tully’s forehead and pushed her to lie flat on the bed. “Swing your legs onto the bed for me, baby.”

Tully did as she was told. “Comfortable up there?”

“If you bent your knees up for me and put your feet flat on the bed,” Libby leaned back as soon as Tully did it, “I’d be more comfortable.”

The new position made Tully’s fingers go in as far as they could. “I love feeling you inside me,” Libby said, pushing her hips back enough so just the tips stayed inside. “I love it because I know it turns you on as much as it does me.”

With that Libby leaned back enough so her fingers landed between Tully’s legs. “So…so wet,” she said. She was having trouble staying focused as Tully brought her thumb forward, so when Tully moved her fingers back in, Libby felt a delicious stimulation.

Before the sensual haze set in, Libby started stroking Tully slowly but firmly. Her fingers moved easily through Tully’s wetness, and as soft as the path was, it was difficult to miss her hard clitoris.

The thought of bringing Tully the same pleasure she’d just received made the walls of Libby’s sex clutch at Tully’s fingers. Despite her inexperience she tried to hang on so she could watch Tully let go for her.

She whispered, “I love you,” and the words brought Tully to the same peak she was rapidly climbing again. She claimed it readily with one last grunt as Libby joined her. After that they lay together just sharing soft touches and kisses until they fell asleep, making love again when they woke up.

“You know the only problem I didn’t plan for,” Tully said as she tried to get her breathing back to normal after her fourth orgasm of the afternoon.

“What?” Libby asked from where she’d landed on Tully’s chest.

“The shower here doesn’t work.”

“If the kids and your mother being here wasn’t enough to make me die of embarrassment, running into them before we get back to the boat might just do it.”

“I’ll run cover for you, honey.” Tully rested her hand in the middle of Libby’s back and laughed. Though it was getting warmer in the house, she had no desire to move, but the later it became, the more realistic she had to be.

The city authorities had instituted a curfew, but some unsavory characters were still running around, so Tully wanted to get them out of harm’s way before the sun went down. If they didn’t leave soon, they’d be stuck for the night.

“Do you think it’ll be a while before we’re able to come back?” Libby asked.

“I’d love to say it won’t be, but this is the Big Easy, and the only thing moving fast around here is the current of the river.” She sat up after Libby rolled off and searched for her underwear. “Why, ready to move in?”

“It’s just been such a long time since I had a place I really considered home that the timing of this storm really sucks.”

“We’ll make a home on the boat for now, and I promise we’ll be in here as soon as we can.”

Libby put her pants on and went to help Tully with her shirt, laughing when they fastened the three remaining buttons. “I hate to whine.”

“Libby, you were stuck in foster care at sixteen and left to fend for yourself at eighteen. You’re entitled to a little whining.”

They walked around locking the place back up, and Tully felt the temperature rise the second the windows were closed. The silence outside was still disconcerting, making it seem as if someone had bled the soul out of the city.

“Let’s get going so we can stop by the Hebert place after we get cleaned up,” Tully said.

“Are you glad to get this one behind you?”

“I’m thrilled not only to finish it, but also with the outcome. It’s done, and while it couldn’t bring Evangeline back, it’s over.”

Despite the warmth of the room Tully watched Libby run her hands up her still-naked arms and shiver. “I hope you’re right.”