Breakthrough Read online

  “You taste so sweet.” I licked the tiny, almost invisible hairs nestled between her belly button and the waistband of her boxers. I pulled the boxers down and placed tiny kisses along an imaginary trail to her clit.

  Brynn gasped when I found the hard spot and I ran my tongue gently over it, around it, savoring it. She shook off her shirt and stripped off her sports bra. She wasn’t nervous or ashamed of being naked. She was glorious. Six feet tall and lean, smooth, and sexy. I was going to take my time with her. I pulled her onto the bed with me and stretched her out so that I could touch her everywhere.

  “You feel so good against me,” she said.

  I straddled her and ran my hands over her arms, across her shoulders, and up her neck. When I leaned to kiss her, she held my head and slipped her tongue past my lips. I moaned when her tongue stroked mine. I had never been so thoroughly kissed before. It was heavenly. She ran her hands up my thighs to tug at my panties. Without breaking the kiss, I leaned up and kicked them off. She unclasped my bra and I sank down onto her heat, relishing her bare skin against mine. Her body was hard, yet soft in the right places. Her small breasts were firm, sensitive, and I finally broke the kiss to take one of her nipples into my mouth. She bucked her hips beneath me and gave a groan of approval. I moved to the other breast and gave it the same attention. Her body tensed and she flipped me so she was nestled between my legs. I wrapped my thighs around her waist and she moaned into my ear.

  “You are so wet.” She ground her hips into mine and made me even wetter. She slipped her hand between us and easily slid two fingers inside me. I forgot about everything at that moment except her. I wiggled my hips and pushed into each thrust, welcoming the pleasurable pain of her depth. She stopped just as I was climbing my way to a fantastic orgasm. I groaned in disappointment when she stopped her thrusts.

  I gasped. “What’s wrong?”

  Her shoulders glistened with a thin sheen of sweat. I leaned up and licked her collarbone after scraping my teeth on her shoulder. She kissed me before answering. “I want you to come in my mouth. I love feeling you let go that way.”

  I wasn’t going to say no. She was extremely talented with her mouth and her hands. It would only be a matter of seconds no matter how hard I tried not to come. She kissed her way down my body and picked up her thrusts when her mouth found my clit. I grabbed the pillow next to me and squeezed it close to my body, picturing her still in my arms. When my legs started to shake, her fingers pushed even deeper inside me. I came loudly, knowing that nobody could hear me for miles. I stopped her because I couldn’t take anymore.

  “I just can’t,” I said.

  She climbed up my body and kissed me like she had previously. I melted. I couldn’t move. When Brynn Coleman made love to a woman, she gave one hundred percent.

  “I love listening to you when you come.” She moved to my side and stroked my skin as I relaxed. Leaning on her elbow, she looked at me, a smug smile on her gorgeous face.

  “You look rather pleased with yourself.” I touched her cheek, running my fingertip over her full lips and pressing lightly. She playfully placed a kiss on the tip, which I brought to my mouth.

  “Guilty.” She resumed touching me. I was working up the energy to touch her back, but she was making it difficult. When her hands were on my body, I thought of little else.

  “If you don’t stop, I’m never going to get the chance to return the favor,” I said. At least that’s what I hoped I said. What actually came out was probably more like a moan here and there, punctuated with syllables that resembled those words.

  “Like I could stop you.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked.

  “Are you kidding? You are the most tenacious woman I’ve ever met. I mean that in a good way. Even though it’s been so rough for you here and you’ve had the worst luck of any other person I’ve ever known, you haven’t stopped. You’ve adjusted, and moved forward. Every single time. It’s fantastic.”

  I kissed her because it was nice to be recognized the way I wanted to be. I also wanted her to know that in just the few short weeks I’d known her, she’d changed the way I saw myself and the rest of the world, but I didn’t know how to say that without getting mushy. This relationship was only supposed to be fun and flirty, not heavy and emotional. I pasted on a smile and pushed her back on the mattress.

  “Mmm, this is nice,” she said.

  I pushed her legs apart with my knees and placed kisses all the way down her body until I hit the juncture of her thighs. She was still wet. I spread her apart with my hands and savored her with my mouth. “So warm,” I said against her pussy. I ran my tongue from the bottom of her slit all the way up to her clit.

  When I dabbed my tongue on the soft skin just below her opening, she moaned loudly but didn’t stop me. Her hips jerked toward my mouth. When I felt her hands on the back of my head, I knew she was serious. I moved my mouth up and concentrated on her engorged clit. I held her hips and licked and sucked until she came gloriously.

  “You even come beautifully.” I climbed up her body and kissed her again. “At some point, you’re going to let me go first. Contrary to popular belief, I’m really not a pillow princess.”

  Brynn laughed even though it was difficult for her to catch her breath. “I never once thought that. I just can’t keep my hands off of you. Once you start touching me, I have to have you,” she said.

  I kissed her shoulder and the soft spot right above her heart before I thought about what I was doing. When I looked at her, she raised her eyebrow at me. I ignored her and tried to come up with anything to talk about to get out of the awkward situation. Since when was I romantic?

  “You always say the right things. I think you’re perfect.”

  She laughed. “I’m far from it.” She lazily twirled my hair through her fingers.

  “You know, I’m never wrong. I might be a complete wreck here, but in the lower forty-eight,” I put air quotes around lower forty-eight, “I have my shit together. I can read people pretty well and you, Brynn Coleman, are pretty amazing.”

  She shrugged. “I certainly have flaws and I’m a pretty simple person. There’s not much to me other than what you already know.”

  “Wait. I know your flaw. This tiny scar near your lip.” I traced it with my fingertip until she playfully bit my finger. “It’s hideous.”

  “I frighten children in town with this face.” She played along. “That’s why I work out in nature so I can hide with the animals. They accept me for who I am.”

  “You’re beautiful inside and out. I want to know more though. Tell me something I don’t know about you.”

  “You think I’m amazing, but I’m damaged goods.” She rested her head on my shoulder so I couldn’t read her expression. I rubbed the back of her head.

  “You’re not damaged at all. I don’t know why you’d think that,” I said.

  “My history’s awful.”

  “You know, if you want to talk about it, I’m here. This is a judgment free zone. You already know how unsavory my history is.” Brynn hadn’t thought any less of me when I told her my story. “And yet when I told you, you didn’t bat an eye. I’m certainly not going to hold anything you tell me against you. I might be somewhat of a snob, but I do care about you.”

  “You’re right. I should trust you more. You’ve been nothing but sweet to me.” She sighed.

  I felt her hesitation and treaded lightly. “If you aren’t comfortable, I understand. I don’t want to push you or make you feel like you have to tell me about it.” I held her for a few moments and enjoyed the feeling of her weight on half my body. I smiled because we fit well.

  “Remember when I told you that my girlfriend cheated on me?” She felt me nod and continued. “Tiffany. We met in high school when she transferred from North Carolina. She made the team and at first we were at each other’s throats vying for the top spot.”

  “I can’t imagine you being competitive. How did you go from enemies to
girlfriends? What was the attraction?” I asked.

  “She was fresh and exciting and beautiful. I didn’t mind her flaws. They made her more interesting. Looking back, she always wanted the best. I dropped everything in my life to cater to hers. She was selfish and a little cruel. I overlooked it because her home life wasn’t great and I chalked it up to her covering up her own unhappiness.”

  I felt Brynn’s breath on my neck as she sighed heavily. “I already hate her.” I gave her a tight squeeze. I felt her smile against my skin.

  “I knew I was going to Florida State, regardless. My dad was an assistant coach there, I practiced at their pool, and I was friends with all the girls there.” Her voice relaxed as she told the story. It was like she had told it before, but never out loud. “Tiffany got a scholarship to attend, too, and my dad helped both of us train. We were great together. Top swimmers, fantastic lovers, sweet girlfriends.”

  “So how long did you date including the time together in high school?” I was curious because first loves were damaging. It was hard to protect your heart if you didn’t know how hard it could fall.

  “All together? About three years. It was great. We were in love, not afraid to be out. My parents weren’t waving rainbow flags or anything, but they didn’t deter our relationship. Well, until we got to Florida State. Then my dad started getting agitated and told us we weren’t supposed to cling to one another in public. We were representing the school and were to behave ourselves.”

  “How did you handle that? I’m sure it was hard to be the coach’s daughter. But college? Come on. That’s the time when the real world doesn’t matter. Nobody judges in college.”

  “Oh, yes they do.” She snorted sarcastically. “Tiffany became distant with me. I could feel her slipping away, but I wasn’t sure why. I went to practice early one day to have a heart to heart with my dad. I couldn’t take her shutting me out any longer and I thought it had to do with how he was treating us. When I went to his office, I knocked first, but walked in because hey, I’m his daughter. What could he possibly want to hide from me?”

  I felt her tense and I held her tighter. I imagined the worst-case scenario because that was how my mind worked. “It’s okay, Brynn. It’s okay.” Those are only words that people say when nothing else will do. She grew quiet and I stroked her back for a few seconds.

  “Yeah, so I walk in to find my dad banging my girlfriend. My girlfriend. I stood in the doorway in complete disbelief. My dad yelled at me to get out and my girlfriend, well, ex-girlfriend, started crying. I was in shock.”

  “Oh, my God. That’s horrible. I’m so sorry they hurt you like that,” I said. Yes, I’d slept with someone married, too, but I believed Nikki’s marriage was over. The fact that it was Brynn’s father made the affair much worse.

  “Eventually, it got out. Instead of being mad at my dad for having an affair with another woman, I got blamed. She was my girlfriend and I had paraded her around our house for years in just a bikini and why wouldn’t my father be tempted? My mother sided with him. I was the bad guy for allowing it to happen.” Brynn sounded dejected.

  I wondered if this was the first time she talked about this to another person. “I’m sorry, Brynn. I’m sorry your family rejected you and hurt you like that.”

  She lifted her head and stared into my eyes. “Now you know why it’s so hard for me to trust people.”

  I stroked her chin. “I’m not her. I’m not nineteen. I’m high maintenance, yes, but I’m nothing like Tiffany. Your parents are assholes. Their reaction would destroy anyone’s ability to trust. I’m glad you got away from them. Alaska’s kind of extreme, but I get it. I do.” I didn’t ask her about why she changed her last name. She would tell me on her own time.

  “Last I heard, my mom kicked my dad out after Tiffany got pregnant. So I might have a half sibling that I know nothing about. That’s what makes me the asshole. I haven’t tried to find them.”

  “You’re not an asshole. Your situation is completely unique. It’s hard right now to make the effort. Maybe when your sibling is old enough, they can try to reach out to you. I’m sure one day they will be able to appreciate the tough situation you’re in.” I wanted her to know that it wasn’t up to her. I doubted the family would be willing to let Brynn in their lives. People had a weird way of skewing the truth to help them sleep better at night. I trusted Brynn. I believed her story and I understood why it was so hard for her to share.

  “It’s such an awkward situation and it’s not the kid’s fault. They are probably telling them all sorts of lies about me. That’s what gets me. I did nothing wrong except fall in love with a jerk.”

  I rubbed her back, not sorry I asked, but sad that our tender moment was gone. I pulled the blanket over us. “So you haven’t spoken to your family in ten years?” I certainly wasn’t close to my family, but I called home once a month.

  “Not a single word. I moved here, changed my name, and pretended not to have a past,” she said.

  Bingo. “Your last name isn’t Coleman?” At least I no longer had to pretend I didn’t know.

  “Now it is. I had it legally changed to my grandmother’s maiden name several years ago. I wanted nothing to do with the Whitfield family name and I was close to my grandmother on my mother’s side. When she died, I inherited a little bit of money and invested in some property.”

  “You’ve done an amazing thing here. Your place, your job. You. You should be proud of yourself.” When I was nineteen, I worried about things like my wardrobe and getting into parties even though I was too young to drink. I thought Brynn was brave for leaving at such a young age and never looking back. I held her close and rubbed her back until she fell asleep in my arms. It was nice to be in charge of another person. For the first time, maybe ever, I felt content.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “Hello?” Brynn answered her phone. What the hell time was it? The light coming in the window was faint, but morning was just over the horizon. “Yeah, no, I’m awake, Lara. What’s going on?”

  She sat on the edge of the mattress. I reached out and put my hand on her back. I liked touching her to let her know I was close. I heard Lara talk, but I couldn’t make out her words. I rolled toward Brynn and placed tiny kisses on her spine while she carried on her conversation.

  “He actually showed up there? Well, I’m glad the kid had enough sense to talk to him. I don’t want him hurt just for a silly confidentiality agreement. No civilian job is worth that,” Brynn said.

  That got me to sit up. I leaned against her back and listened to what Lara was saying.

  “He looked in his computer and told the guy exactly what he thought was the truth. Then he told his boss and his boss told him to call us. Good job on making it seem as if Kennedy was gone,” Lara said.

  “Did the kid get a good look at him? Do we have a good description of him?” Brynn asked.

  “Even better. We have video.”

  Even though her voice was muffled, I heard it. They had a picture of the mysterious fourth man. According to Lara, it sounded as if he was the same man who visited Cee a few days ago, though they would need to wait until later in the morning to confirm. For some reason, this group was hell bent on finding me. When Brynn finally hung up, I fell back on the bed and looked at her.

  “Seriously, what is the worst thing that could happen to a poacher here in Alaska? A fine? Have his license taken away? Why are these hunters after me?” I was getting worried.

  “These guys are too organized and driven to be common poachers. So if this is as big as we think it is, we’re talking jail time. Yes, fines and all of that, but depending on what Lara and her people are able to find when they arrest these guys, they could go away for a long time.” Brynn explained how just recently, they locked up a guy for almost three years for shooting a bear cub on government land. “A lot of hunting is trust. We trust that hunters are following the rules and leave it to them to determine if the animal they are thinking about shooting is eligible and
if they are going to report it. We only catch a few of the many who break the rules, so the ones we do catch, we make examples out of.” She slid back under the blanket and pulled me close to her. I felt protected in her arms.

  “Do we have to get up?” I asked. I kissed the skin closest to my mouth, which happened to be her neck.

  She laughed softly. “No. We can sleep for a little bit longer.” She squeezed me and kissed the top of my head.

  “What if I don’t want to sleep?”

  “Your appetite is insatiable, woman.”

  We didn’t talk for at least another hour.

  * * *

  “I don’t understand why you won’t let me stay here. You were fine with it earlier.” We were finally up and dressed. I wanted to stay behind and write, but Brynn wanted me next to her.

  “I would feel better if you were with me.” She fixed her coffee and poured it in her travel mug. Wally was in the kitchen scurrying around Brynn’s legs. He was excited to go. I wasn’t.

  “We’ve been through this before. Nobody on Earth knows I’m here. I’m the safest in this cabin. I can’t even get locked out anymore. I’m so close to finishing my articles. Please, Brynn. You have to trust me. If there is a problem, you will be the first person I call. I promise.” I slid my arms around her waist and kissed her neck. She remained stoic until she felt my tongue on her skin. I felt her relax and give in.