Page 51 of A Shot at Love
Frankie laughed and the melodic, full bellied sound of it filled the hotel room. Her cheeks warmed beneath Jules' touch, a blush spreading over the bridge of her nose, mixing with her freckles in the cutest shade of deep pink.
“Not in those exact words and not anyone that matters,” Frankie answered. “Not until you.”
Frankie leaned down and kissed Jules again, sweeter this time, slower. She took her time and Jules let it happen, allowing herself to slip into the ebb and flow of Frankie’s touch, of the way lips burned across her skin, leaving behind the promise ofmorein their wake.
Without breaking their kiss, Frankie tugged Jules away from the door and slowly spun them, walking Jules backwards towards the bed. Her knees hit the edge and she fell back, arms splayed out at her side, her eyes wide as she took in the scene above her.
Frankie’s fiery red hair had come loose from its bun and strands hung down around her face, framing it in the most attractive way. Her lips were swollen and shining from the kiss, her chest rising and falling as she worked to catch her breath and she was looking at Jules like she were a painting in a museum, a piece of art made to be marvelled at, made to be worshipped.
Jules didn’t think anyone had ever looked at her that way before.
“Knowing someone had you then let you go…God, they have no idea what they lost but I am so glad they walked away, because now I get this.” Frankie climbed onto the bed, laying down beside her, stroking her face with a tenderness that Jules was taken aback by. “I get to have you.”
Kissing Frankie was all she could think to do and she rolled onto her side, sliding a hand around the back of Frankie’s neck to bring her close. Their lips met again in a hungry fashion, a push and pull that had them both fighting for control and then Frankie flattened her palm against Jules' stomach.
Her fingers delicately toyed with the bottom hem of the shirt Jules had chosen to wear that day knowing the colour complimented her skin tone and when Frankie’s fingers finally met her bare skin, she tensed, her breath catching in her throat.
“Frankie, wait…I —”
The hand immediately stilled and Frankie pulled it out from under her shirt. “What’s wrong? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No, you didn’t, you’re…” Jules looked at her, then lowered her eyes as a wave of embarrassment washed over her. “You’re perfect. It’s me.”
Frankie sat up and looked down at her, her brows pinched. She raised the hand that just barely grazed beneath the shirt Jules was wearing up to her cheek and gently stroked her skin. “What’s wrong? You can tell me.”
“I…” Jules covered her face with her hands for a second to try and push the nerves and uncertainty she suddenly felt aside before she sat up beside Frankie.
She wanted Frankie, she really did, and this was everything she had craved; Frankie’s touch, her lips, being close to her this way, but…
“Jules, talk to me. Please.”
Jules released a shaky exhale then pursed her lips, the same ones that had just been kissing Frankie, and she spoke.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been with anyone and I’m…well, I’m a little out of practice.” Jules searched Frankie’s face for any sign of regret, any sign of annoyance that they’d come this far just for Jules to pump the brakes, but she found none. “I don’t think I want the first time I sleep with the woman I’ve had a crush on for months to be in a hotel room in Los Angeles. I want to be home, and I want to be there with you.”
Frankie looked hurt but the hurt quickly shifted into confusion and then to worry. She pulled away from Jules, standing and putting a foot of space between them. “I hope you don’t think I was going to pressure you into doing anything tonight…or…or that I came on too strong. I would never go beyond what you felt comfortable with.”
And the thing is, Jules did know that, she knew Frankie would never push or ask for what Jules wasn’t ready to give her, it wasn’t in her nature and the beautiful thing about becoming friends, about learning who the other person was, meant Jules never, ever had to question that. Not even for a moment. Frankie cared about her well-being, that much she knew for certain.
But this reaction, the genuine concern in Frankie’s voice, was one more thing on a long list of reasons for why Jules was falling for Frankie.
Correction — why she’d already fallen.
Jules sat up and held her hands out for Frankie to take. “I know, and that thought didn’t even cross my mind.” Frankie took her hands and stepped closer, standing in between her legs, linking their fingers together. “Hear me when I say that Iwantmore but if all you wanted was one night with me away from our real lives, I can’t give you that and it’s better to know now.”
The look on Frankie’s face changed again and when she smiled, it made the whole room brighter. Her eyes were sparkling and she let go of one of Jules' hands then brought it up to her face. She cupped her chin and ran a thumb along her bottom lip.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
Swallowing hard, Jules took a deep breath and gave her head a little shake. No, she didn’t know why Frankie was looking at her the way she was or what Frankie even saw in her. It had been a long time, even before the breakup, since someone looked at her the way Frankie was looking at her now.
“If you think all I want is one night with you, you’re wrong.”
And just like that, Jules needed her again. She gripped Frankie’s wrist and pulled her down onto the bed on top of her, their bodies flush, a leg slotting between her own as she reached down to grip Frankie’s hips.
Maybe they wouldn’t sleep together in a hotel room in Los Angeles, but there were plenty of things they could do to take advantage of their time together before they had to fly home to their real lives.
“Kiss me again,” Jules begged, pawing at Frankie, pressing herself against the strong body lying next to her.
