One more slightly shaky breath, and then she reached up and pulled the sheet down slowly, revealing Iris’s body inch by beautiful inch, her tank top, a sliver of creamy skin at her belly button, and then . . .
Her underwear.
She wasn’t wearing shorts or pants. Just a pair of bright purple bikinis.
“Shit, sorry,” Iris said, wincing. “I should’ve warned you.”
Stevie shook her head, forcing her eyes back to Iris’s. “It’s fine.”
“Very sexy move though,” Iris said. “That slow tug of the covers.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Stevie’s mouth curved into a tiny smile. Her pulse sped up as she thought about what she should do next, honestly shocked when the answer was so clear. She barely even second-guessed herself as she pressed a hand to Iris’s stomach, gently, then straddled her, sliding her thigh over Iris’s hips until she sat above her. Iris sucked in a breath but didn’t move. Didn’t say a word.
“Okay?” Stevie asked.
Iris just nodded, her eyes tracking Stevie’s.
Stevie ran her hands up Iris’s torso to her ribs, thumbs meeting at her sternum. Iris didn’t have on a bra, and her nipples were already peaked, pressing into the thin cotton. Stevie grabbed the hem of her tank, lifting until Iris raised her arms, and soon Iris was shirtless, bared to Stevie in a way that made Stevie feel the need to moan.
She didn’t. But Christ. Iris was goddamn gorgeous, her breasts full, her nipples pink, the tips hard and begging for Stevie’s mouth. Stevie wasn’t sure if that would be over the line or not, so she settled for trailing her fingers just under that lovely swell. Iris’s body arched into her touch, her eyes fluttering closed.
“Fuck,” Iris said.
“Okay?” Stevie asked, pausing.
“Yeah,” Iris said, laughing. “Very okay. You’re . . . you’re doing great.”
“Good,” Stevie said, then she lifted her own shirt and Iris’s eyes snapped open. Stevie watched her throat move in a hard swallow, Iris’s hands resting on Stevie’s thighs.
Still, Iris didn’t touch her anywhere else, even though Stevie knew her nipples were just as hard and taut as Iris’s. Stevie wasn’t sure if it was inappropriate to ask to be touched, seeing as how this was Stevie’s lesson.
So she concentrated on Iris, lowering herself until their breasts met, their labored breathing tangling together in the space between them. She kissed Iris . . . once . . . twice . . . before settling onto her lips in earnest, sweeping her tongue into Iris’s mouth. Iris met her, press for press, little moans rolling up from Iris’s throat. Stevie smiled against her. This time, the sounds Iris was making didn’t freak her out at all. They were like music, soft and light and gorgeous.
Stevie took Iris’s hands off her thighs, then stretched them above Iris’s head, sitting up a little to look at her. She was beautiful like this, writhing underneath Stevie. Stevie kept waiting for the panic to start its inevitable rise. Her stomach did flutter a bit, her fingers betraying the slightest shake, but she kept it together, the panic barely swelling.
Because she liked this.
No, she loved it.
The control. The way she was making Iris gasp and squirm. She was the reason Iris’s pupils were blown wide. She was the reason Iris’s hips lifted, circled, seeking pressure.
And Stevie wanted to let her find it. She wanted to make Iris feel good, so she would know that she could, so she could make someone else feel good when it was real.
Still, nothing about this felt fake as Stevie slid off of Iris and onto her side.
“Stay still,” she told Iris. “Keep your arms above your head.”
Iris obeyed, turning her head slightly to meet Stevie’s gaze. Stevie leaned in to kiss her, a hard and fast tug of lips, the glide of their tongues like nothing Stevie had ever felt before. She slid her hand down her own thigh, then drifted back up between Iris’s legs, just the barest touch before she placed her hand between Iris’s breasts, drifting over to one nipple before visiting the other.
Iris gasped when Stevie took one between her thumb and forefinger, eyes slamming closed. Stevie smiled, trailing her fingertips down Iris’s stomach, following the freckles to her belly button and lower. She dragged a finger over the band of her underwear, pausing.
God, she wanted to touch her.
Wanted to make her moan, make her come.
“Can I?” Stevie asked quietly, her own breathing just as ragged as Iris’s.
Iris hesitated, watching Stevie for what she assumed were signs of her own doubt, but Stevie was sure.
She’d never been more sure of anything.
Finally, Iris nodded, added a whispered “Yes” to her consent. Stevie pressed her mouth to Iris’s shoulder, moving her fingers over Iris’s pelvic bone. She stayed above her underwear, unsure if touching Iris’s skin would be too much for either of them, but she could already tell Iris was soaked. She felt her wetness as she slid her fingers down to Iris’s sex, pressing slow circles into the cotton.
“Oh my god,” Iris said, back arching, hips reaching up for more contact.
Stevie opened her mouth on Iris’s arm, tongue swiping at her skin, teeth grazing as her fingers explored, spreading Iris’s pussy under her underwear, dragging more wetness up toward her clit.
“Fuck,” Iris said. “Stevie.” Her breathing grew even more raspy, desperate, and Stevie applied more pressure, circling until Iris couldn’t even manage expletives anymore. She was just moans and breaths and Stevie had never felt more powerful.
More like herself.
She hooked her leg around Iris’s, dragging Iris’s thighs open even more, giving her more access to Iris’s clit. Iris grabbed Stevie’s wrist, her moans becoming whimpers.
Stevie had just started circling faster when Iris tugged Stevie’s hand away.
“Hang on a sec,” Iris said, her chest heaving. She kept her fingers on Stevie’s wrist, both their hands resting on Iris’s stomach.
Stevie leaned up on her elbow. “Are you okay?”
Iris laughed, blew out a long breath. “Yeah. Yeah, more than okay. I just . . .” She met Stevie’s gaze, curled Stevie’s hand to her chest. She searched Stevie’s eyes, her own a little watery-looking. Her lower lip trembled, just barely, but Stevie saw it.
“Iris.”
“I’m okay, I swear.” Iris laughed again. “You were great. Incredible, okay? I just . . . I think that’s probably enough, don’t you?”
Stevie frowned. “You didn’t want—”
“I did,” Iris said. “And I was about to, I promise. But this . . . this is for you. And you did it. You seduced me.” Iris winked at her then, even though her cheeks were flushed, her breathing a little uneven. “A-plus.”
Stevie managed a smile as she took her hand back and waited to feel relieved. Triumphant, or confident and sexy. And yeah, some of all that was there, but mostly, she just felt . . .
She wasn’t sure. Or maybe she was, and she just didn’t want to name the sinking feeling in her chest, that letdown in the pit of her stomach.
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “Yeah.”