Miss Match Read online

  Lucinda stepped into the master bath and ran the water, rinsing off her hands and watching in the mirrored reflection as Samantha finally reached for the one picture that haunted Lucinda the most, the one of her and Dominic dancing. It was the last competition they were ever in together, and they had swept all three events, as usual, but it had felt different the whole time. Like something was off. She’d had no idea it would be their last recorded performance together. She might have done something differently. She might have said something more. She didn’t want to do this, not now, not with Samantha here. She didn’t want to mourn, she refused to. She stuffed the feeling down and admired Samantha’s perfect curves. What Lucinda wanted, tonight, was to touch her, taste her skin, love her body. And she could.

  She stepped up behind Samantha, gliding her hands up Samantha’s sides and brushing her hair off to one side. She lowered her lips to the naked skin, kissing along the crest of Samantha’s shoulder, licking the flesh as she went. She kept her eyes on Samantha’s reflection, slowly nipping and soothing, watching her reaction closely.

  Samantha closed her eyes and breathed out deeply when Lucinda’s lips met her skin. She gripped the edge of the bureau as Lucinda kissed up her neck, nuzzling at her ear. Samantha reached up and slowly took out her earrings, one at a time, with her eyes open now, watching Lucinda intently.

  Lucinda’s hands pressed Samantha’s hips against the dresser, staying close as she slowly unzipped Samantha’s dress, letting it fall to the floor before slipping off Samantha’s bra and tossing it aside. Her lips never left Samantha’s skin and her hands were constantly in contact, manipulating her position, guiding her into place. Samantha stepped out of the discarded dress and moved to take off her shoes, but Lucinda placed a steady hand at her hip to stop her. “Leave them on,” Lucinda husked into her ear before biting down on her earlobe. Samantha shuddered and nodded, straightening out and looking through hooded brown eyes at Lucinda’s reflection.

  Lucinda rid herself of her own dress and pressed flat against Samantha, her hands running up a tight abdomen to perky breasts, palming them softly at first before increasing her pressure and rolling her fingers over pert nipples.

  Samantha moaned and arched into the touch, her back bowing naturally. Lucinda continued lavishing attention on the skin of Samantha’s neck and upper back as she turned her chin toward her. She kissed Samantha once, slowly and softly, whispering, “Let me lead.”

  Samantha nodded and began kissing Lucinda with a fierceness that caught her breath.

  Lucinda broke the kiss and bent Samantha forward so she was leaning on her hands, watching in the mirror. With one hand, Lucinda continued to toy with Samantha’s chest as the other slid down to her hip and over her ass, nudging her legs apart as Lucinda resumed kissing her upper back. Samantha’s legs parted slowly. Lucinda traced her fingers up the slick skin on the inside of Samantha’s thighs, teasing the flesh as she continued to give attention to swollen nipples. She bit down gently on Samantha’s shoulder as she moved her hand up to cup her center, then teased her fingers up and down slowly over Samantha’s sex.

  Samantha moaned and let out soft, fast breaths at all the stimulation.

  Lucinda watched Samantha struggle to maintain eye contact as she slipped lower, pressing two fingers against her tight entrance before entering slowly. Samantha whimpered and pressed back farther into Lucinda’s hand, rolling her hips to take the new addition fully. Lucinda moved in and out of her with a steady rhythm increasing as she went and added a third finger. Samantha bucked back, eyes widening momentarily before resuming their hooded gaze, so wet against Lucinda’s hand that she almost slipped out of place.

  Lucinda pressed against Samantha to anchor her control as she brought her lips up to Samantha’s ear again. “Did you like it when I called you baby?”

  Samantha groaned and her mouth gaped. She sucked in a deep breath as Lucinda continued to thrust and nodded her head. Lucinda rewarded her with a bright smile and tender kiss to her neck as she bent her forward a tiny bit more and whispered, “Touch yourself for me.”

  Lucinda barely got the gentle command out before Samantha complied with enthusiasm. Her eyes fluttered shut momentarily as she clenched tightly around Lucinda’s fingers, the pulsing of her sex becoming more erratic against Lucinda’s hand.

  “Slow,” Lucinda demanded as she sucked on the skin under her ear. Samantha calmed her frantic movements as Lucinda released her breast and slid her hand up her chest so it was resting under her collarbone. Lucinda increased her pace slightly before pressing her thumb lightly over the puckered flesh of Samantha’s asshole. Samantha gasped and bit down on her bottom lip.

  “Come for me, baby,” Lucinda said as she licked the shell of Samantha’s ear.

  Samantha cried out and she increased the frantic circles on her clit. Lucinda continued thrusting in and out in controlled strokes as she felt Samantha start to tumble over the edge. Just as Samantha trembled against her, Lucinda slipped the tip of her thumb inside and curled her fingers, sending Samantha into a second, more aggressive orgasm.

  She crumpled forward, panting and gasping. Lucinda pulled her flush against her body, slipping her hand out and wrapping it around her abdomen. She held Samantha tightly, kissing softly along her neck and jaw while Samantha tried to catch her breath. Lucinda turned her slowly, nudging Samantha’s nose with her own as she pressed a gentle kiss to her lips between jagged breaths before scooping her up and carrying her over to the bed.

  She placed Samantha down with care, slipping off her heels and pulling the covers over them as she gathered Samantha to her, kissing her head lightly. “You are so beautiful when you let go,” she said softly into dark hair.

  Samantha wrapped her arms around Lucinda and raised her head long enough to kiss Lucinda sweetly on the lips. She smiled sleepily and cuddled closer before falling fast asleep.

  *

  Lucinda woke up thirsty a few hours later. She had been spooning up behind Samantha when she awoke and slid back silently, trying not to disturb her. She padded downstairs to the kitchen in nothing but lace panties. The glasses of wine sat abandoned on the counter, the bottle neglected by the sink. She tidied up the glasses and resealed the wine before pouring herself some water. She leaned against the cool slab of the countertop by the sink, looking out into the night, surprised at how calm she felt in this moment. The quietness of the house was soothing to her. Upstairs, a very naked Samantha Monteiro was sleeping in her bed and Lucinda didn’t feel nervous or anxious at all. In fact, she was very happy and relaxed.

  She felt warm arms wrap around her waist as she sipped her water and smiled. “Awake, sleeping beauty?” she asked.

  Samantha kissed her shoulder and took the glass, stealing a sip for herself. Lucinda turned around and looped her arms loosely around Samantha’s hips. “Hey, you.” She smiled warmly.

  “Mm, you’re so soft,” Samantha purred as she sidled up closer, placing the glass on the counter behind Lucinda. She ran her hands up Lucinda’s sides and clasped them behind her neck, pulling her down into a kiss. Lucinda smiled as Samantha sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, running her tongue over it slowly. Samantha sensed the change as Lucinda’s libido kicked in, and grinned, increasing the aggressiveness of her kissing, pulling her lips back just enough to force Lucinda forward to meet them. She nipped and sucked at the lips in front of her, teasing as she pulled Lucinda toward the island. She pushed Lucinda’s hips back, pressing her ass against the edge as she dragged her lips along the pale skin of Lucinda’s neck.

  Lucinda groaned and tilted her head back, exposing her neck to Samantha’s hungry mouth. Her hands grabbed at Samantha’s ass and hips, no doubt still keyed up from before.

  Samantha slapped Lucinda’s hands away, putting them on the countertop behind her as she peppered kisses along a naked collarbone, hands roughly cupping Lucinda’s breasts. Lucinda arched her back as Samantha ducked lower, swirling her tongue around a pale pink nipple as she scratched slowly
down Lucinda’s perfect abs. She sucked the nipple into her mouth as she pressed confident fingers against Lucinda’s clit through light blue panties. Lucinda’s hips bucked forward at the contact and one hand moved to cradle Samantha’s head. Samantha sucked harder and gently bit down on the rosy bud in her mouth. She removed her mouth with a slow lick before moving to the other breast and resuming her activities. Lucinda’s eyes were clenched shut and her hips rolled slowly, seeking out more friction from Samantha’s fingers.

  Samantha continued to tease until a low grunt from Lucinda brought her back to the moment. She chuckled against swollen flesh as she pulled her tongue back into her mouth and looked up at Lucinda. “Hands on the counter,” she commanded and Lucinda’s fingers pulled out of her hair quickly. Samantha kissed lower, sucking on each defined abdominal muscle while her fingers hooked the band of Lucinda’s low slung panties. She nudged long, muscular legs apart and knelt down in front of her lover, teeth pulling the undergarment down the rest of the way to be discarded on the kitchen floor.

  She kissed the inside of Lucinda’s right knee, teasing her tongue along the defined lines of a dancer’s leg while her hands rubbed up and down toned thighs. Lucinda kept her hands clamped to the counter as she watched Samantha look up at her and move her lips closer and closer to her center. Samantha placed two very wet kisses just to the right of Lucinda’s sex, causing her to whimper pathetically, her hands leaving the counter and hovering nearby, but not touching Samantha’s head.

  Samantha was reminded of earlier: the hungry look in Lucinda’s eyes as she bit down on Samantha’s shoulder, the confident hand on her breasts, the agonizing taunt moving to her clit and back, swirling and dipping. She had wanted to close her eyes and let her head fall back, but she didn’t want to miss that paralyzing look even for a moment. It was her turn to dominate now.

  “Tsk, tsk,” Samantha clucked against flushed pink flesh, “hands on the counter, Luce.”

  Lucinda shuddered as hot breath swept over her throbbing clit, not touching, just teasing. She pulled her hands back and clamped down again, knuckles white with frustration. “Good girl,” Samantha cooed before closing the distance and dragging a slow, wet tongue over a very wet Lucinda.

  Lucinda moaned at the contact, her chest flushed with color. Samantha could see her struggling to keep her hands at her sides while she kept her eyes on Samantha doing terrible things to her below.

  Samantha swirled and dipped her tongue, focusing on the swollen nub at Lucinda’s apex before sliding lower. She sucked gently on the lips in front of her as her hands continued to drag blunt nails up and down toned thighs. Lucinda’s legs started to quake as her breathing picked up even faster. Samantha took this as a cue to switch things up a bit. She pulled her mouth back and stood slowly, replacing her tongue with two fingers as she motioned for Lucinda to get up on the counter. Lucinda clambered up onto the surface, sitting close to the edge. Samantha continued to stroke her lightly as she kissed the soft flesh at the top of Lucinda’s breast. “I like you like this,” Samantha murmured. “Lay back, baby.”

  Samantha distracted Lucinda from the cold surface of the counter by pressing her palm flat against Lucinda’s heaving abs as she lowered her mouth over her clit again, licking and sucking gently, dragging her fingers lower. Every time Lucinda would get close and whimper a warning, Samantha pulled back and slowed down, changing directions or positions slightly, keeping Lucinda at the precipice, taunting her. Lucinda wrapped her legs tightly around Samantha’s shoulders, and Samantha reached up and pressed Lucinda’s hands to her own breasts, encouraging her to massage and squeeze as she refocused her attention lower.

  “Baby, please…” Lucinda begged as she rocked her hips into Samantha’s mouth.

  Samantha nodded and smiled before wrapping her lips around Lucinda’s clit and sucking gently while she thrust two fingers into Lucinda’s soaked center, curling and twisting until Lucinda cried out.

  Lucinda’s breathing halted and her body froze, trembling a bit before it relaxed under the soothing sucking of Samantha’s ministrations. Samantha withdrew her fingers and kissed each hip bone tenderly before climbing up onto the counter and kissing along Lucinda’s neck. “I like the way you taste.”

  Lucinda laughed and wrapped her arms around Samantha, holding her close as she kissed the top of her head. “You are something else.”

  “So which is it—is the selling point of the house the kitchen or the master bedroom?” Samantha teased as she kissed up Lucinda’s chin to her lips.

  “Verdict’s still out, I may need to see the bedroom again to decide.” Lucinda kissed Samantha quickly before sitting up, pulling her off the counter and chasing her upstairs.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Dark eyes and even darker hair encased Lucinda’s face as plump lips descended upon her own, pulling her focus back to her mouth. Samantha was straddling her thigh, one hand clasped tightly with her own with the other holding her face close. This had started a few minutes ago, soft murmurings that came at the end of sleep and the start of waking. They had gravitated toward each other, bodies intertwined. The gentle rocking and kissing was getting away from them.

  Lucinda didn’t care—she loved it. In fact, she gripped her hand on Samantha’s ass, guiding her harder and faster against her own thigh, pushing her further and further. Samantha gripped Lucinda’s hand tighter, her rhythm getting frantic. Lucinda slid her hand up, caressing Samantha’s chest as she kissed her more deeply, encouraging her to let go. Samantha shuddered and pulled her hand from Lucinda’s jaw, pressing it between them and into an unsuspecting Lucinda, her gasp of surprise propelling them both to climax. Samantha melted onto Lucinda’s chest, tucking her head against her neck, kissing the skin softly between staggered breaths.

  “All mornings should begin that way,” Samantha said quietly, nuzzling closer.

  Lucinda chuckled and nodded as she wrapped her long limbs around Samantha, rolling them so she was on top. She danced her fingers along Samantha’s hairline, brushing stray hairs aside to give her a better view of the perfect face below her. “Hmm, yeah, sounds good.” She traced her eyes along the soft features of Samantha’s face: her naturally pouty lips, perfectly plucked eyebrows, high cheekbones, and those damn dimples. She could look at Samantha all day and never get bored.

  “What’re you thinking there, blue eyes?”

  “Nothing much, just, you know, about you.”

  “Nothing much, eh?” Samantha teased. “I’m nothing much, am I?”

  Lucinda raised an eyebrow. “You are many, many things, but nothing much isn’t one of them.” She punctuated the statement with a soft kiss to the corner of Samantha’s mouth.

  Samantha smiled into the kiss and pulled back, settling her eyes on the tousled blond mess in front of her, over her, on her. She wanted more of these moments. These imperfect, quiet moments with Lucinda felt stolen. The exhilaration from it was almost wrong or dangerous. She felt as though she was taking little pieces of Lucinda and putting them into this folder that she kept referring to throughout her waking minutes. She wanted more pieces. She was starting to realize with a little anxiety that she wanted all the pieces. She didn’t want fragments, she wanted the entire picture. It surprised her to feel so strongly about something or someone. She wanted more than great sex and occasional dates with Lucinda. She wanted imperfect, quiet moments. Lots of them.

  She thought back to the photos on Lucinda’s mirror from last night; she had stepped toward it instinctively, wanting to see more of Lucinda’s life. She wanted to know all Lucinda’s secrets. She was so mysterious and quiet—her past was locked up tight. Lucinda was better at deflecting than anyone Samantha had ever known, disarming her curiosity with distractions, be they physical or otherwise. Samantha realized she didn’t know much about Lucinda at all. A worm of doubt wiggled its way into her chest. Was she really ready to get involved with someone again? Someone she knew next to nothing about? What was she doing?

  “Are you seein
g anyone else?” The question sort of blurted from her subconscious.

  Lucinda blinked, pulling back her lips from Samantha’s skin. The question seemed to have caught her off guard. She looked down into Samantha’s eyes but didn’t say anything, her expression unreadable.

  Samantha shifted under her, uncomfortable with the silence. She wanted to retract the question, but her pride flared. She wanted an answer as to why she wasn’t good enough more than she wanted to flee from the question.

  “No. I’m not.” Lucinda supported herself on her elbows. The pause in her reply was for no other reason than she was in her own little blissful world of breathing in the smell of Samantha’s skin and recording it to memory. No, she wasn’t seeing anyone else. In fact, she wasn’t even remotely interested in anyone else. The subtle mask that had settled on Samantha’s face started to fade; she blinked once, twice, three times before breathing out slowly. It was as if she was clicking back her emotions, scaling them down to a more manageable level. This amused Lucinda, to think that Samantha was concerned about her answer. “Are you?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

  Samantha’s eyes narrowed in mock defiance. “No.” Her expression relaxed as she appeared to consider her next question. “Do you want to?”

  Lucinda smiled. “Do I want to what? See anyone else?” Although she was enjoying this back and forth, she realized that Samantha was perhaps unwittingly giving her an out. Lucinda had long come to accept that she couldn’t trust the permanence of anything in her life; she had learned that anything that matters got taken away. She had already ventured into new territory with Samantha. Was she ready to open herself up to the chance to lose something again? She thought maybe this time things could be different. This already felt different.

  Samantha scrunched her nose and averted her eyes as she blushed.