Home 01: New Holiday Home

Tara bit her lip as Rae sat back on her knees. Rae's green eyes swept over the body, dwelling on every peak and valley and curve. Rae slid her more experienced hand over Tara's belly. "I've always heard that pregnant women glow," she mused, bending and kissing Tara's full lips.

"I'm not glowing from being pregnant," Tara whispered, caressing Rae's face. "You make me glow." She pulled Rae down for another long kiss. Rae's hands resumed their exploration, traveling from Tara's baby to her breast, slightly larger than the last time Rae had taken one of the buds into her mouth. Rae inched down, her lips leaving a wet ghost path as she climbed the peak to taste Tara's nipple. She licked the bud, watching it lengthen, and then closed her lips around the areola, swimming her tongue over the puckered flesh. Tara moaned softly, arching her back to push more of herself into Rae's mouth.

Rae continued her journey down Tara's body, moving over the round tummy with loving kisses. She dipped her tongue into Tara's navel and crawled down to the juncture of her thighs. She pressed her lips to the crotch of Tara's panties. Tara inhaled sharply, her voice caught in the middle of a moan.

Rae placed her mouth over Tara's mound, blowing through the panties on the sensitive flesh. Tara groaned, twisting as the torment grew, then thrusting upward to offer herself to Rae. Rae grinned in satisfaction, using her fingers to tug the lacy panties down the sculpted thighs. She blew across Rae's mound again, watching the curls part. Tara was whimpering now, turning to direct the air. Rae finally bent, touching her lips to the swollen lips and kissing softly.

Tara cried out, drumming her heels against the mattress as Rae's tongue danced along the slit. Tara groaned, her body tightening and arching. She bit her lip in an effort to keep quiet as Rae's tongue slid deeper, sweeping up and down the inside of the wet lips. Her body convulsed as Rae's tongue touched her clit for the first time. She exhaled, throwing her head back and pushing air from her lungs. Rae quickened her assault, her tongue thrusting up and down on the swollen nub. Tara fisted her hands, grabbing a handful of the sheet as she thrashed. Rae curled her tongue and penetrated Tara's tight hole, pushing deep inside and scraping her inner walls.

Tara dug her fingers into Rae's short hair, pulling hard on the follicles as her body whipped in pleasure. She growled low in her throat, squeezing her legs around Rae's head. Rae slipped her hands beneath Tara's rump, holding on as Tara bucked. "Raegan!" she cried in a hoarse whisper. "Raegan!" She jerked stiff, her body trembling in violent shudders. She collapsed, gasping for breath. "Raegan."

"Hmmmm?" Raegan asked, kissing her way back up to Tara's mouth. She smiled at her lover, stroking a strand of wet hair off her cheek.

"I love you," Tara whispered, fingers moving on Rae's cheek. Her hand wandered down to the front clasp of Rae's bra, opening the hooks. Her hands covered Rae's larger breasts as she pushed the cups away. Rae's nipples pressed into the center of her palm. She squeezed the grapefruit sized mounds. Rae whispered encouraging words as Tara scraped her neatly trimmed nails over Rae's pale flesh.

Rae shivered, arching like a cat and groaning in pleasure. Hesitantly, Tara lifted her head and pinched one of Rae's nipples between her teeth, tugging on it. Rae hissed at the incredible sensation as Tara's tongue lovingly caressed the bud. She sucked more into her mouth, using her lips and tongue to raise Rae's passion. Her fingers continued downward, leaving fine red lines down Rae's stomach. Rae rested on her elbows over Tara as the hesitant, unfamiliar hand explored. Tara's hand stopped at the waist of Rae's panties, unsure how to proceed.

She hooked her fingers into the band, pushing them down as far as she could reach without releasing Rae's breast from her mouth. Her hands trailed back up, moving along the inside of Rae's thighs. She combed her fingers over Rae's smooth mound, surprised by the silkiness of it. Her fingers stroked up and down the hairless apex, moving in circles. Rae moaned loudly at the gentle teasing, her hips rocking. She dropped her head, whispering in Tara's ear. "Please."

Tara's mouth moved to the other breast, opening her mouth wide to swallow the nipple and flesh. Her fingernails danced along Rae's swollen slit, her mouth moving reflexively. Her fingers pushed a little deeper, sliding easily into Rae's depths. She found Rae's bud and began making circles around it, her tongue circling the nipple in the same motion and time. She worked in a spiral, coming closer and closer to the bud with each swirl.

Rae felt like her body was on fire. The double sensation of the dual assault had her libido spinning. Tara's tongue and finger reached their target at the same time. Rae arched as her body jerked stiff. She opened her mouth to scream but bit back the noise so that it was a low violent growl deep in her throat. The noise encouraged Tara. She started sliding her finger back and forth against Rae's hard shoot. Rae's body rocked in time to Tara's caress, her hips flexing up and down as Tara's finger dragged through her inner recesses.

The spasms started slowly, her clit the epicenter of a calamity wracking through her body in powerful tremors. Tara's hand kept working, her finger sawing between Rae's soaking lips, her motions quicker and quicker. Rae cried in pleasure. Two centers developed as Tara's mouth quickened its suckling, her tongue rubbing the big nipple over and over. In her mind, she saw the sonar's bleeping out until they collided in her stomach.

The need for silence intensified her orgasm. She opened her mouth and air rushed out of her body like a released balloon. The quivering of her muscles lasted an eternity. Her strength sapped, she collapsed over Tara, their bodies entwined.

Rae was uncertain how long she lay over Tara, gentle hands caressing her back and hair before she regained control of her body. She rolled to her back beside Tara, gasping for breath. Tara rolled to her elbow, a sated smile on her face. "That was . . . wow," Rae said on a deep sigh. Tara laughed softly, her fingers making circles on Rae's skin. "I didn't think you had ever been with a woman."

"I hadn't," Tara answered. "I spent plenty of time learning how to take care of myself while Billy was on the road. I just did to you what I know I enjoyed." She stopped talking, looking alarmed. "Was that okay?"

Rae grinned at Tara's sudden shyness and uncertainty. She pulled Tara into her arms, circling Tara's waist and allowing her to rest her head against her shoulder. "It was okay," she assured.

"You'll stay the night, won't you?" Tara asked. "Will would be so disappointed if you weren't here when he woke up in the morning, and so would I."

Rae hesitated, shifting comfortably. She had no desire to leave the comfort of the bed or Tara's arms. "I'll stay."

Tara rose up again, looking at Rae with the love and affection that she felt. One hand rested between Rae's bare breasts, the other propping her head so she could look into her lover's eyes. "What happens now, Raegan?"

Raegan sighed again, this time the motion producing a sound of frustration instead of contentment. She didn't want to think about the future right now. She could see no future for her and Tara. "I have to go back to Nashville tomorrow and won't be home until Easter."

Tara fell to her back beside Rae, linking their fingers between them. "Easter? That's a very long time."

"It might be for the best. It will give us a little distance and time to decide what we really feel for each other," Rae answered. She yawned, rolling toward Tara and tucking her lover close to her side.

She was asleep in an instant.

New Year's Eve in Nashville. Raegan moved about the townhouse, hearing her own breath echo against the walls. When Jamie had lived there, it had sometimes seemed too small. One the lower level was the living room, a light, open room with elegant furniture. The kitchen and dining room extended across the back half of the house. There were two slightly larger bedrooms upstairs. The master bedroom had a bathroom. In the mornings, she and Jamie had both complained as they ran into each other. The other bedroom was neat but had rarely been used.

After Jamie had left, the house had seemed just right. It hadn't seemed too big or too small for one person. She didn't realize till she came home from Christmas that she had not missed Jamie much at all recently. Now, the townhouse seemed huge. Without Tara, everything seemed empty.

She cursed under her breath for thinking about Tara. Thinking about her high school friend made things seem even worse. She had left her hometown without calling Tara, and she had not returned any of Tara's calls all week. She hadn't answered any of her e-mails either.

Rae had told Tara that time would help them determine how they really felt. She knew if they were talking on the phone every night and e-mailing that they would be unable to think objectively. They needed real distance to clarify their feelings.

She walked from the kitchen to the living room, sighing as she sipped her soda. She was invited to a friend's party, but she wasn't certain she was going to go. She and Jamie had attended Beth's New Year's Eve party every year. They had been together. Rae didn't particularly care anything about being with people tonight. She would feel out of place with her friends who had their significant others. Beth would be trying to fix her up with someone. She knew because Beth had called four times to try to convince her to come.

The ringing phone startled her from her reprieve and she spilled some of the soda on her blouse. She cursed under her breath, wiping at the spot as she moved to the phone. "Hello?" she asked without first looking at the caller ID.

"Rae?" a familiar feminine voice asked nervously. "Hi, sweetheart. How are you?"

Rae hesitated, frowning. Her heart would beat easier through the lonely night if she hung up. "Good, J. I'm good. You?"

"I miss you," Jamie answered immediately, a catch in her voice. Rae leaned against the dais, pressing her fingers to her head. "Are you going to Beth's tonight?"

"I haven't decided," she answered. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Curling up with a stiff drink and listing reasons why I shouldn't hop on a plane and come running home to you," she laughed dryly. "It's a very short list."

"What happened to your friend?"

"My friend?" She sighed. "She's not you. You have me spoiled."

"It's the holidays, J. You'll feel better in a few days."

"You don't want me to come home?" Jamie asked in a wounded voice.

Rae paused. She didn't want to hurt Jamie, but she didn't think Jamie coming home was a good idea. "I don't want you to give up your job."

"There will be other jobs. I'm very qualified. I could find a job." As Jamie spoke, the doorbell rang. Rae looked at the door in frustration. The ringing bell gave her the opportunity to escape from Jamie's phone call, but she still held a special place for the woman. She didn't want Jamie hurt. "Was that the door?"

"Yes. I should see who it is. Hold on?"

Rae laid the phone on the table without waiting for Jamie to answer and crossed the room without paying attention to where she was going. She was thinking instead about how to help Jamie through her loneliness without giving her false hope. She was so distracted by Jamie's phone call that she didn't even look to see who was at the door.

The small woman's face was a mixture of excitement and trepidation. She blinked up at Rae, took a deep breath, and started speaking. "I don't know what's going on in your head, but I love you. I've run through all the excuses in my head. I know Billy's just been gone a few months. I know you are just out of a relationship, but neither one of us are on a rebound. I know you think I am hormonal, but I miss you all the time. I have since Thanksgiving."

"Tara," Rae began.

Tara pushed by Rae, entering the house. She did not turn her eyes from Rae as she walked. "I know your next argument is going to be how difficult it will be for me to suddenly become a lesbian. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this since Thanksgiving. I'm ready for it. I think I'm more ready for it than you are. I'm not going to hide from anyone. You are going to be with my family on holidays and I am going to be with yours. They are going to know that we are a family." She paused, studying Rae, who still stood dumbfounded. "Will and I are going to move here as soon as soon as we get things together," she said, stepping closer to Rae. She reached up and touched Rae's cheek. "Will we be welcome?"

Rae's mouth moved wordlessly for a moment. She stared down into Tara's wistful, loving face, and then wrapped her arm around Tara's waist. "We'll need a bigger place before the baby comes."

Her mouth lowered to Tara's in a sweet, long, loving kiss. Suddenly, the New Year looked brighter. In Tara's arms, she was, at last, home.