“Ash?” Carmen almost breathed the word.
Ash stared at Carmen’s mouth, at the way her lips parted under Ash’s gaze, her tongue gently licking the plump pinkness of her lips. Ash groaned and dipped her head.
At the first touch of their lips, Carmen tensed; in the next moment, she melted. And then she kissed her back in ways that made Ash’s knees go weak and the rest of her body turn to jelly.
Ash gently explored the soft mouth beneath hers, her arms tightening around Carmen with every second that passed. The kiss was good. Unbelievably good. And when Carmen moaned, sweetly, softly, Ash couldn’t help licking delicately across Carmen’s top lip, asking the question that was answered a millisecond later.
Carmen’s tongue tentatively met hers, and Ash’s world tilted beneath her feet.
She ran her hands up Carmen’s back and into her hair, tugging her even closer, deepening the kiss with each tongue stroke. Her body was on fire, yet she was shivering. It had been a while since she had last been kissed, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever been kissed like this. Every cell in her body cried out in pleasure; her nipples hardened, and between her thighs wetness formed as her clit pulsed.
She had no idea how long they kissed. They never fully pulled back, but every now and then one of them eased back to take a breath, turn her head the other way, then resume the pleasure-filled exploration.
Finally, reluctantly, as her brain began to override her libido, Ash lifted her head and broke the kiss. Breathing heavily, she looked down at Carmen in a daze.
“W-what was that?” Carmen asked, her voice husky. “I thought you…” She licked her lips again, and Ash trembled. “Why did you kiss me?”
“I-I don’t know. I couldn’t help it. You…” She took a step back but still kept a hold of Carmen, reluctant to lose contact with her warmth. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have; that was—”
Carmen’s finger on her lips stopped the rest of her apology. “Shush. I’m not sorry. Not at all. I’m just a tad confused.” Her smile was wan.
“You and me both.”
“Should we talk about this?”
“I don’t know.” Ash finally released Carmen and stepped back, her motion stopped by her heel hitting the kerb behind her.
“Actually.” Carmen raised a hand. “Let’s not. Let’s just leave this where it is. Let me go home with a smile on my face, okay?”
Ash couldn’t help laughing. “Yeah, okay. Understood.”
Carmen exhaled slowly and looked left and right before crossing the road.
Ash followed, her mind in a tailspin, her body still thrumming.
They walked in silence, but this time it wasn’t uncomfortable. At the next corner they reached the main road, and Carmen gestured to her right. “The Tube is that way, but I can see a cab approaching. I’m going to grab that, okay?”
“Sure.”
Carmen gave her a half smile before turning to flag the cab down. When she turned back, her smile was stronger, more confident. “Bye,” she said as she opened the cab door.
Ash watched the taxi drive off, her mind still not quite caught up with the fact that she had kissed Carmen—and that Carmen had kissed her back in a way that made Ash want to do it all over again. And again and again…
Chapter 28
Carmen’s hands trembled as she searched her handbag for her phone. Her skin was still on fire from the kiss, even though it had been at least thirty minutes since she had been in Ash’s arms.
She kissed me.
She still couldn’t quite believe it. Not after how difficult their conversation at Alma’s had been. Nor could she believe how incredible it had been to be kissed by a woman. By Ash. Soft, yet powerful. Hungry, yet tender. She shivered at the memories; she had not wanted that kiss to end. With Ash’s arms around her, her body pressed close enough to feel her breasts against Carmen’s own, she’d wondered if her knees would give way. She’d also wondered just where that level of passion could lead, but when Ash had pulled away, her eyes a little wild with fear, Carmen had somehow known that it was the right move to keep it light, to back away and call it a day. Jean-Pierre’s words came back to her, and now, after that kiss, she began to believe that maybe he and Felicity were right about Ash and how she felt about her.
Finally, her fingers closed on the phone, and she pulled it from the depths of the bag. Ignoring the notification that she had eight new emails awaiting her attention, she called up Felicity’s contact details and pressed the call icon.
“Hi, darling, how are—?”
“She kissed me!”
“What? ”
“She. Kissed. Me.”
“Ash, I take it? I mean, just to be clear that’s—”
“Yes, Ash! Bloody hell, who else do you think it would be?”
Felicity guffawed. “Well, a few days ago you were all, ‘I’m okay; I’ll get past it; she doesn’t want me, and that’s okay’. So forgive me for checking.”
“Okay, fair enough.” Carmen dumped her handbag and walked into the living room. Her pulse raced and her knees wobbled, so she needed to sit.
“You need to start at the beginning.” Felicity sounded exasperated. “How did you go from where you were before she went away to her kissing you today?”
Carmen relayed in detail how the kiss started and how it had seemed to go on for hours, and yet seemed to be over far too quickly. She was only marginally embarrassed at sharing the knowledge of the intimacy with her friend.
“Oh my word.” Felicity inhaled sharply. “I’ve got goose bumps.”
“You should try it from my side,” Carmen said without thinking.
Felicity barked out a wicked laugh that made Carmen flush.
“So what happens now?” Felicity asked. “Are you an item? What does this mean?”
And just like that, Carmen’s mood deflated. “I have no earthly idea.” She rubbed at her forehead,
