Split the Aces Read online

  “Rae. Open the door. Please, let me in,” Cori pleaded.

  Rae didn’t move. “Why?” She cleared her throat and said it again, louder. “Why? Why should I let you in?”

  She’d tried that already. It hurt too much to try again so soon.

  “Please, we need to talk.” More thuds sounded against the door. “I just have to see you. Please…let me in. Let me touch you.”

  Rae’s fingers ached in time with the dull throbbing in her head. Her whole body hurt. Her skin hummed with need, with the knowledge that Cori was here and asking for her. Finally, against the screaming caution in her mind, she crossed to the door and threw it open.

  Cori stood there, bag at her feet, stage makeup streaked down her face, wearing jeans and a T-shirt instead of the killer “sex me up” dress from earlier. Rae held herself rigid against her warring emotions. Part of her wanted to pull Cori close to her, part of her wanted to slam the door, and part of her wanted to charge past Cori, back to the club to put the smackdown on the woman Cori had been flirting with. Mine, mine, mine. Jealousy was an ugly, ugly emotion.

  She stepped back and motioned for Cori to come in. Cori took half a step toward her but Rae held up her hand.

  “No.” No touching. She’d never survive it. “You said you wanted to talk.”

  They moved to the couch, sitting carefully apart from one another. Rae waited.

  Cori looked around. “I’ve never been here before.”

  “Is that why you came here, Cori?” Rae started to stand. “Just curiosity?”

  “No!” Cori grabbed Rae’s hand, pulling her back down. “No, please. Just wait.”

  Rae looked at their entwined grip and extricated herself, one finger at a time.

  “Why are you doing this?” Cori folded her hands in her lap. “You said you wanted me.” Her voice got smaller as she spoke. “You said you couldn’t stop thinking of me. Of being with me. And now…this.”

  Rae pressed her fingers to her closed eyelids. Being this close to Cori and not touching her was just too hard. Still, she held herself back. “You said no.”

  “I said no?” Cori sounded confused.

  “You said no, don’t move to Seattle, don’t come to me. Take the job, there’s nothing here for you.” Rae hated the words. Hated being forced to say them aloud.

  “You hung up before—”

  “What else was there to say? You didn’t want me. Why hang around after that?”

  Cori placed one hand on either side of Rae’s head and turned her face toward her. “I never said that, Rae.” Her voice was gentle.

  “Yes.” Rae searched her memory, certain of Cori’s message. “You did.”

  “No. I wouldn’t say that, because I do want you. Why would I say I don’t when I do?”

  Because you’re an evil fucking sadist and you’re trying to kill me. Rae knew that wasn’t true. Cori was kind and sweet. Loving. Definitely not sadistic.

  “Didn’t you get my messages?” Cori asked.

  “No.”

  “Oh, Rae, no wonder you’re so mad at me.”

  Cori leaned in for a kiss, sad laughter in her eyes. Rae was almost there, so close to letting Cori kiss her concerns away. But just like the tequila, that kiss couldn’t wipe the slate clean. Maybe Cori’s touch would dull the pain, possibly enough for Rae to forget that she would be kicked in the teeth the next morning when Cori walked away.

  She turned her head at the last moment. “No. You don’t get to kiss me like nothing’s wrong.”

  “Rae, I’m here. Right here. In Vegas. Why would I want you to move to Seattle? Of course I told you not to. By then I knew I was coming. Don’t you see?”

  Light flooded Rae. When she was babbling about moving to Seattle, Cori was already planning to move to Las Vegas? How could she not have figured that out? She cast her mind back, recalling the way she’d slammed the phone down on Cori’s protests. Then left town for a week to lick her wounds.

  “Your voice mail messages…” The ones she had deleted without listening to.

  “You were gone when I got here,” Cori said, plainly bewildered. “Your mom was gone. Nobody knew where you were. I was frantic.”

  “You looked frantic tonight, flirting with that woman.” Oh, God, pouting and jealous were not attractive.

  Cori threw up her hands. “I’m an entertainer. That was an act.”

  Act or not, Rae didn’t like it. Still, she didn’t want Cori to know exactly how irrational it made her. Was this how Cori felt when she saw Rae with other women? A sledgehammer hit Rae in the chest. She’d thought Cori was being petty when she made that crack about her going to another party. Now she understood.

  “I’m sorry I slept with those other women.”

  Cori cringed. “We don’t need to talk about that.”

  “No, really. I’m sorry. I hate that it hurt you.”

  “Don’t apologize, Rae. It’s who you are. That’s just something I have to accept.”

  Really? Was that who Rae really was, deep down? Rae shook her head, realization climbing to the surface. “I don’t think so. I think that’s who I let myself be because it was easier.”

  Cori didn’t look convinced.

  “My mom took me to Mexico,” Rae said. “A week surrounded by beautiful Latinas and they all reminded me of you. I didn’t have sex once.”

  Cori opened her mouth and closed it, shook her head, then laughed. “I’m going to kiss you now and you don’t get to stop me.”

  Rae’s breath caught in her throat as Cori cupped her cheek, her thumb smoothing over Rae’s lips. She stared at Cori’s mouth and waited, a shiver tripping over her skin. Slowly, gently, Cori kissed her. No hurry, no urgent push. Just the sweet, flowing press of her lips as Rae lost herself in the knowledge that she was in love. She loved Cori. She couldn’t help it.

  Cori leaned back and smiled, her eyes tender and sparkling.

  “I’m scared.” Rae put it all out there. “I think I…love you. What if this doesn’t work?”

  “It will.” Cori sounded certain.

  “Really?”

  “It may not, but we have to try. Because I think I love you, too.”

  “My father ran away after promising forever. What if I do the same thing?” It hurt to say that to Cori, but she deserved to know what she could be in for.

  “My father stayed and tortured my family. Is that better?”

  Rae tucked her arm around Cori, snuggling closer. “I don’t know.”

  They sat silently for several beats, letting the future gather before them.

  “What if you sleep with someone else?” Cori asked.

  “I won’t.” Rae, for all her philandering, was confident.

  “But what if I want you to?” Cori laughed uncomfortably. Her skin was too dark to see a blush, but Rae swore she could hear it in her voice.

  “Are you blushing?”

  Cori shook her head hard. “No. Absolutely not.”

  Rae squeezed her. “The one thing I’m sure of is the sex. I’ll do, or not do, whatever you need.” She smiled, unable to resist the tease. “Even if it makes you blush.”

  “Can people really find happiness after a week together in Vegas?” Cori murmured.

  Rae kissed her. “I have no idea, but we’re going to find out.”

  *

  Cori examined Rae’s bedroom, taking in the monochrome prints on the walls. A pond at sunrise, battered dock extending into the water. The Hoover Dam looming high overhead, water spilling out racing toward the photographer. A bullfighting arena, sun streaking in the arched entry over a bull, proud and wide, its head down and foot stomping, ready to charge.

  She let her gaze roam past a deep mahogany chest of drawers to the three-wick candle on the side table next to the platform bed. Her eyes tracked from item to item, taking stock, cataloguing, studiously avoiding Rae. The room, the reflective choices of artwork, the generous amount of framed photos of Norma and Rae, the clean lines of the furniture, were at odds with th
e den of iniquity Cori had expected to find. Rae’s aggressive pursuit of sex was not evidenced here.

  Rae stepped into view, gathering Cori’s hands in hers. “You okay?”

  Cori nodded. “This isn’t what I expected.”

  “Really?” Rae tilted her head. “What did you expect?”

  “I don’t know…not this.”

  Rae regarded her, but didn’t respond.

  “Fine.” Cori gave in. “Mirrors on the ceiling? Plush velvet blankets on a giant round bed? A full array of sex toys on display in a glass case?”

  Rae’s eyebrows edged higher with each sentence. “Cori, I had no idea you were such a freak.” She shook her head and made a tsking sound. “That’s not really my style, but we can redecorate if you want.”

  Cori pulled her into a hug, laughing. She held her longer than she intended, her laughter fading to amazement. This was happening. She was here with Rae, in Rae’s apartment, her bedroom, and Rae was saying all the right things, offering everything Cori wanted. She squeezed Rae tighter. Rae lowered her hands to Cori’s waist, her fingers massaging a comforting, possessive tattoo through the thin cotton of Cori’s T-shirt.

  “Let me help with that.” Cori pulled the shirt over her head, inviting Rae to explore skin instead of fabric. “Okay?”

  Rae’s movements were small and lazy, but persistent. A shiver started around Cori’s thighs and worked its way through her body, raising a trail of bumps across her waist and chest. Rae tightened her hold, her gaze intense and possessive. Cori melted, her belly burning with need. Rae’s touch laid claim to her, establishing ownership, from the press of her lips to her tongue pushing in and her palms moving out, flattening against Cori’s back and pulling her close. Each caress was full of promise. Every kiss a declaration of intent, and not just for the moment.

  Something had changed. Rae was looking at her with a quiet confidence Cori had never seen. She stared back and relaxed in Rae’s arms, opening her lips, her soul, to the hot, wet invading demand. She wormed her arms up under Rae’s shirt and grasped her shoulders, digging her fingers in, nails scratching, marking her territory. Rae’s moan reverberated inside Cori’s mouth.

  “I need,” she gasped between Rae’s kisses, her words swallowed, lapped up by Rae’s tongue. “Naked…you…please.”

  Cori tugged Rae’s shirt off, slick skin-on-skin her driving focus. She thanked the goddess that Rae was not wearing a bra. She lifted her mouth away from Rae’s and sucked Rae’s hard nipple, tugging sharply with her teeth.

  “God,” Rae pleaded.

  Rae’s hands slid lower and cupped her ass. Cori cursed her jeans and sucked harder. Rae jerked her up, forcing Cori’s legs around her waist, and carried her to the bed. She dropped Cori none too gently, and yanked off the rest of her own clothes, stumbling as she tried unsuccessfully to pull her booted foot through her pant leg.

  “Dammit.” She collapsed on the floor in a heap, fingers scratching at her laces.

  Cori laughed. Affection, tinged with longing, settled in her heart. Rae brought all the right emotions to life in her. Lust, longing, hope, anticipation, and happiness.

  “Why are you laughing?” Rae waved her finger at Cori’s Levi’s and satin bra, her voice mocking and stern. “Make yourself useful. Take those off.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Cori thrilled at the command as she hurried off with her clothes.

  Rae, newly naked, stood at the edge of the bed, her hands raised, a breath away from touching Cori. “You’re beautiful.” She cupped Cori’s breasts, massaging her nipples with her thumbs, light and soft. “Perfect.”

  Cori lowered herself, drawing Rae with her. She explored the tan lines on Rae’s hips, getting to know her again. This slow, sometimes playful, sometimes urgent, dance was pushing her to her limits. She wanted Rae’s mouth on her. Now. She spread her legs and pulled Rae’s hips into the vee, arching at the half-touch where she wanted Rae the most.

  “Please, Rae.”

  “Please?” Rae teased.

  Cori circled her hips, inviting, urging. “Yes, please.”

  Rae pushed back, pinning Cori to the bed with her weight, holding her still. “Wait…please…just let me enjoy you.” The laughter in her eyes vanished. Her voice was suddenly serious. She moved her hand lower, smoothing over Cori’s belly, fingers teasing the tight curls at the apex of Cori’s legs. “I thought you were gone, that I’d lost you forever. I need,” she slid her fingers into Cori, slow and certain, “this.”

  “Yes.” Cori held herself rigid, her body aching to move, to force Rae’s fingers in faster, harder. She felt Rae, this time the pulsing heat and the perfection of being filled. Rae flexed inside her, moving deeper, pulling out, easing in again, more this time. Wider. Stretching her. The rumbling storm in her belly swept up, threatening to overtake her.

  “Stay with me, Cori.” Rae stared down at her in rapt concentration, beads of sweat pooling on her brow.

  Cori clutched at her, holding Rae’s hips tight to her with Rae’s hand between their bodies, Rae’s fingers inside her. Rae moved her hips, pulling back, thrusting forward, pumping through Cori, pushing her higher. Rae had asked her to wait, to hold back, to make it last, but it was too good, too much. Rae braced herself on one trembling arm as she drove Cori toward release, the heavy weight of her body grounding Cori, keeping her from flying off into the stratosphere.

  She lifted her hips, rising to meet Rae, again, again, again, matching Rae’s rhythm. First slow, then fast, then slow again, barely moving, torturing Cori. Cori drew tighter, impossibly tighter. Her orgasm threatened to overtake her, to drown her. “Please.” She thrashed her head, unable to hold back. “Please.”

  Rae captured her mouth, pushing into her with her tongue, filling her, smothering her cries. “Now, Cori.” She thrust harder, her thumb gliding across Cori’s clit, pushing it flat, circling. “Come for me now.”

  Permission. All the lights in Vegas crashed through her, colliding and exploding. The overwhelming climax was Rae’s gift to her. The trembling, whimpering, begging, wreck of mess she collapsed into was the woman Rae made of her.

  When the room came back by slow degrees, Rae was hovering over her, smiling and cocky. Cori pulled her down in a tight hug and kissed her, intent on communicating her essence, her hopes, her emotions. Rae belonged to her. Everything else would take care of itself.

  “I’m so glad you opened the door,” Cori said.

  Rae gathered her closer and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Me, too.”

  Cori didn’t know all the answers. Didn’t know what the future promised, but this was one gamble she had to take. Win or lose, she was all in.

  About the Author

  Jove Belle grew up in southern Idaho and now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her partner of thirteen years. When she’s not writing, Jove dedicates her time to chasing her four-year-old around the house, making silly faces at the baby, and being generally grateful for the crazy carnival ride of life.

  Her other works include the romantic intrigue novel Edge of Darkness (Bold Strokes 2008) and the forthcoming romance Chaps.