“Left,” Gard said instantly.

Jenna continued on, pleased with Gard’s choice. She wanted to be in Gard’s bedroom. In her bed. She didn’t want casual, she didn’t want quick or easy. She wanted to get inside Gard’s skin the way Gard was inside hers. Gard had seduced her on the mountainside, intentionally or not. She’d surrendered completely up there, and as much as she’d loved not being in charge, she regretted not showing Gard just exactly how much she’d wanted her. Now she intended to make that message very clear.

Gard’s bedroom was like the rest of the house, spacious and elegant. High beaten-tin ceilings, a huge four-poster bed, Craftsman dressers and armoire, floor-to-ceiling windows with sheer white curtains. The covers were pulled down on the bed, but there was no dent in the pillow, no wrinkles in the sheets. No one had slept in it and Jenna liked that too. She pulled Gard over to the side of the bed and then backed away from her.

“Watch,” she whispered. Reaching down, she grasped the hem of her T-shirt and slowly pulled it up and over her head. She let it drop behind her, smiling as Gard’s eyes widened, feeling her color rise as Gard’s gaze dropped from her face down her body. Her nipples rose and tightened. She unbuttoned her jeans, pushed down the zipper, and stepped out of them, getting rid of her shoes at the same time. She hadn’t worn any underwear while she’d been working at home and now she was naked. Gard sucked in a breath and Jenna’s belly quivered. At the touch of Gard’s hands on her waist, she nearly relented and gave up her plan of command. The slightest brush of Gard’s fingers made her wetter, and she wanted to collapse onto her back and pull Gard down on top of her. She wanted Gard over her, Gard’s fingers inside her, Gard’s mouth tormenting her nipples. She wanted to come for her. For her.

“No touching,” Jenna said.

“Jesus Christ.” Gard slid both hands up Jenna’s sides and tried to cradle her breasts, but Jenna pushed her arms away.

“I mean it.”

“You let me see you naked for the first time and I can’t touch?”

Gard made a very uncivilized sound and Jenna laughed. “You promised to stay where I put you and not move.”

“You tricked me.”

“You’ll live.” Jenna unbuttoned Gard’s shirt, one slow button at a time, and worked it down her shoulders. She bunched the cotton T-shirt underneath in her hands, jerked it free of Gard’s pants, and pulled it up and off. “Boots.”

Gard obeyed, toeing off her work boots and leaning down to yank off her socks. When she straightened, naked except for her jeans, Jenna clenched inside. “I get so wet just looking at you.”

“Let me have you,” Gard demanded.

“Be patient.” Jenna ran her hands over Gard’s chest and cupped her small breasts. She lightly rubbed the pale tan nipples, her breath hitching when Gard’s stomach tightened, the squares of taut muscle popping between the etched furrows. Oh God, she wasn’t going to be able to wait. Had to taste her. Had to be in her heat. She pressed her breasts to Gard’s and kissed her.

The instant their tongues touched, Gard groaned and jerked Jenna close. Their bodies fused from breast to thigh and the rough cotton of Gard’s pants rubbed against the soft skin of Jenna’s belly. Jenna spread her legs to let Gard slide one thigh between her legs. She rolled her sex against Gard’s hard muscle until her clitoris pulsed on the edge of explosion. Dragging herself away from Gard’s mouth, she knelt on the thick Persian rug and gripped Gard’s ass to hold her in place. She’d left a wet spot on Gard’s pants. She liked that. She wanted to rub herself against Gard’s stomach and leave her scent everywhere. She brushed her mouth over Gard’s stomach instead, circling Gard’s navel with the tip of her tongue. Gard tried to open her fly, but Jenna quickly caught her hands.

“No.” She tugged the rim of Gard’s belly button with her teeth and licked downward until she reached the waistband of her jeans. She opened the top button, slid the zipper down partway, and worked her tongue lower.

“Come on, Jenna,” Gard whispered.

Smiling, Jenna shook her head. She sucked lightly on the satin-soft skin exposed by the vee of Gard’s open fly until Gard’s ass tightened and her hips jerked against Jenna’s mouth. Jenna’s thighs grew damp and her clitoris twitched and she was seconds away from begging Gard to slide her fingers inside her. Mustering her willpower, she stood and pressed her palms against Gard’s chest. Gard backed up, hit the bed, and fell backwards.

Instantly, Jenna straddled her, pinning her to the bed with both hands on her shoulders. “You weren’t supposed to move.”

“You pushed me.” Gard bucked her hips, forcing her crotch into Jenna’s swollen center. The pressure was exquisite and Jenna had to bite her lip not to cry out. She squeezed Gard’s shoulders harder.

“Stop that.”

“You can’t expect me not to—”

Jenna silenced her with a kiss, sliding her tongue inside, taking her in a deep, deep kiss that had Gard arching off the bed. While she played in Gard’s mouth, she rocked in the cradle of Gard’s pelvis, teasing herself as her tender clitoris rubbed back and forth on the cotton fabric of Gard’s half-open pants. Gard clasped her hips, increasing the pressure between them, and she moaned, rubbing her breasts over Gard’s. She wanted to come. She really, really wanted to come. If she could just come, she could get control again. Make things last, make Gard wait. Make it good for her—

“Oh.” Jenna trembled, the orgasm coiling between her thighs. Almost there now, and so so good. No, no, not yet. With a sharp cry, she pushed upward, easing the exquisite tension in her pelvis.

“What are you doing?” Gard’s grip on Jenna’s hips tightened. “You want to come.” She tried to pull Jenna up the bed. “Let me make you come in my mouth.”

Jenna planted her hand between Gard’s breasts, preventing her from dragging her up. She’d come in a second if Gard took her that way. “Get your pants off.”

“Damn it, Jenna.”

Jenna leaned away from Gard and caressed her own breasts with both hands, catching her nipples between her thumbs and forefingers, tugging them. The shock made her clitoris jump. “Do it or I’ll make myself come.”

Gard cursed and half sat up, pushing at the waistband of her pants. The rippling muscles in her chest and abdomen bore stark witness to her need and Jenna had to fight not to just give in and fall on her. She skimmed her fingers down the center of her abdomen and pressed the base of her clitoris with two fingers. Her hips lifted and she caught her lower lip between her teeth. Oh God, she was close.

“Go ahead,” Gard said, her attention focused on Jenna’s fingers. “Make yourself come.”

“I might.” Jenna gasped as pleasure filled her throat. She fondled herself until she knew she had to stop or surrender. “In a little while.”

Gard reached for her but she pushed away, sliding down the bed until she was lying between Gard’s spread thighs. She kissed the base of Gard’s belly and rubbed her cheek over the soft skein of hair at the apex of her thighs. “But I’ve got something else in mind first.”

Gard drove her fingers into Jenna’s hair, trapping her head between her hands. “Go slow.”

“I’ll go any way I want to.” Still, she did take her slowly, wanting to savor each heartbeat against her lips, each thrust and shivered breath as she kissed and licked and sucked. She knew how to keep Gard on the edge and she did, slowing her strokes, softening the suction when Gard tried to press harder into her mouth. She toyed with her, teasing and rubbing and dipping inside with her fingertips.

“I need to come.” Gard sounded so matter-of-fact, her voice so flat and hollow, Jenna knew she was right on the brink.

Jenna pulled back and covered her with swift, light kisses.

Gard’s legs shook. “I need to come.”

Jenna trapped Gard’s clitoris between her fingers and watched it pulse, licking with a rhythm too uneven to bring her over.

“I need to come.” Gard groaned, seeming to turn to stone, every muscle so tight Jenna feared she might splinter. She wasn’t sure Gard was breathing anymore, and she had to give her what she needed now. She sucked her gently and swirled her tongue and Gard’s breath shot out and she came in a series of hard thrusts.

Jenna smiled around Gard’s throbbing flesh. Her lips would be bruised—the idea pleased her very much.

“Now.” Gard reared up before she was even done coming, catching Jenna by surprise.

“What—” Jenna gasped.

“Damn it, Jen, come here.” Gard pulled Jenna upward, unable to wait any longer to sink into her. She kissed her, the last of her orgasm roiling in her belly. Racing a hand over Jenna’s breasts, down her body, and between her legs, she cupped her and squeezed. Jenna cried out and Gard slid her fingers inside her, her thumb working Jenna’s clitoris back and forth.

Jenna jerked, her eyes wide and stunned. “Oh my God.”

“You coming, baby?”

Nodding helplessly, Jenna fell into Gard’s arms, flooding Gard’s hand with hot release. Holding her breath, Gard rolled onto her side, keeping Jenna securely in her arms. She kissed her, needing to be inside her everywhere. Needing, in that infinite moment, nothing more.

Chapter Twenty-four

Jenna kissed Gard’s throat. Salty sweet, fragrant as fresh-cut hay. The sun streamed through the window onto her bare back. With her cheek pillowed against Gard’s shoulder, she might have been lying on a grassy slope on a lazy summer afternoon with nothing on her mind except the clouds flickering by overhead. She burrowed a little closer, absorbing all that was Gard. The bold, steady beat of her heart. Slow breaths flowing in and out, as soothing as the wind in the trees. The oh-so-seductive rasp of Gard’s slightly rough fingertips up and down her spine. The wondrous panorama of Gard’s body—tanned shoulders, pale breasts and belly. Hard muscle. Soft skin. Sweet, sweet taste.