“Um, well, yes, that…that did happen. I…I apologize, Heather. I was out of line and I can tell that my sister has a real fondness for you.”
I roll my eyes at his stilted tone but I’m happy that he’s finally backed me up on something. Maybe he could be a decent little brother one day after all.
Apollo hangs up abruptly, cutting off Stefano’s stuttering. “Is anyone else concerned about how easy to rattle he is? If he can’t go up against Rafaela without falling apart, I doubt he’ll manage the Cordosi’s or the Rizzoli’s.”
“Rafaela’s scarier than the Rizzoli’s. And I think this is our cue to leave.” Daniella cuts in, winking at me and Heather before hustling Apollo out of the apartment.
I turn to face Heather again and feel my heart skip a beat when I see her smiling at me for real this time. She leans forward and hugs me, her forehead pressing against my shoulder, before drawing back. I groan at the lack of contact.
“Hey, Rafaela? The whole “family business” thing. Is it…legit?”
I laugh at how tactfully she tries to word her question. I muse over how to tell her, but as I go to speak she holds up her free hand.
“Actually, I don’t think I need to know explicitly. I kind of figured it out when your cousins bundled me into a car with tinted windows and suspicious number plates.”
We both laugh then, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“I’m so sorry. Can we start again? A clean slate?”
She grins and kisses me quickly and softly. “I’d really like that,” she whispers.
We’re interrupted by a banging at the door and I groan. I’m about to tell Heather to ignore it when I hear a vaguely familiar voice on the other side.
“Heather? If you’re in there, move away from the door. We’re coming, Heather!”
Heather blinks. “Rachel?” She asks in disbelief.
The banging on the door gets louder and she runs to open it. A hoard of women I vaguely recognize from the bookstore tumble through, all clutching heavy hardback books.
“What’s going on?” I ask, making to stand. One of the women, who I recognise as the owner, waves her book at me.
“Don’t you move! We’re going to rescue Heather and then we’re going to leave and you can’t stop us!”
“Um, Rachel? Hey, I haven’t been kidnapped,” Heather interjects.
Another woman pushes her way forwards. “Rachel called us all and told us you’d been kidnapped by the mafia?”
They all seem to be very at home with this lesbian hero routine. They remind me of Apollo and the ease with which he dispatches rivals nowadays.
“Oh! No, Cody, oh my god you guys are so sweet. No I wasn’t kidnapped, I really do want to be here.”
Heather argues with the women for at least half an hour, while I sit bored on the couch. Finally mollified, they reluctantly leave after hugging her in turn and then glaring at me. I don’t think I’ve made friends with her friendship group quite yet.
Heather locks the door properly this time and turns back to me. We’re finally alone again.
Nineteen
Heather
When everyone leaves her apartment, Rafaela turns to me. She smiles sheepishly.
“So, now that this is all confirmed to be real…” She trails off.
She steps towards me. I hesitate for a moment, but then I wrap my arms around her and hug her close to me. She wraps her arms around me too.
I feel so safe in her arms. This feels like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. I know this is real.
How could something that feels this wonderful be fake? It may have started as a bet, but that train left the station as soon as we laid eyes on one another. We fell for each other fast and hard.
Tonight may have been difficult, but I would live through it again a thousand more times to be able to be with her.
We fit together perfectly. Every part of our journey has just felt like we’re meant to be together. I close my eyes as she holds me. I try to memorize the way her body feels against mine.
Her hands run down my back and through my hair. I hold her tighter. I look up at her and sparks fly as our eyes meet.
She leans down and kisses me. I’ve never felt a kiss with so much love before in my life. I feel a rush of joy, lust, love, and so many other good emotions.
Being in her arms makes me feel like I’m right at home.
I kiss her back. I want to communicate everything I feel about her in this kiss. We pass all of our hopes and dreams and feelings to one another through our embrace.
She pulls away from the kiss. She takes my hand and leads me back to the bedroom. I take her hand and follow her.
When we get to the bedroom, she pulls me onto the bed with her. I land on top of her. I’m surprised by the sudden fall onto the bed.
She smiles and kisses me again. I practically melt into her when she does.
“I’ve fallen so hard for you. How did you manage to do that to me?” She asks with a laugh.
“Just lucky, I guess,” I tell her. I wrap my arms around her neck and kiss her again.
I’ll never get tired of kissing her. I entwine my limbs with hers. Even though gravity is pushing us together, I want to be even closer.
I move against her. The friction between our bodies is causing more lust to build inside of me. With all these emotions coursing through my body, I need to express what I’m feeling physically.
She starts to grind against me as well. She flips me on my back. She kisses me more deeply.
“I see how it is,” she says with a chuckle. “You just want me for my body.”
“I want you for all of you,” I tell her. “But your body is a nice bonus.”
“I hope so,” she says. “I like your body too. And I’m going to make it feel so good.”
She kisses me again before starting to kiss my neck. I moan and squirm against her. She knows all the places to kiss that drive me wild.
It’s almost ticklish when she starts to kiss my neck. The sensitivity and the gentleness of her kisses are really erotic. I run my hands through her hair.
Her hands start to feel my breasts through my shirt. With each squeeze and caress, I feel myself getting more turned on. I moan lightly.
I feel down her back and sides. She’s so strong. I feel the tautness of her muscles.
She sits up and pulls her shirt off over her head. She tosses it off the side of the bed. I look up at her, taking in the vision of her in her bra.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” She asks.
I start getting undressed as well. She continues taking her clothes off too. Soon, we’re both naked.
We lay in bed facing each other and taking each other in. I could look at her like this forever. I reach out and run my hands over her body. She does the same.
For a while, we stay just like this. Now that everything is settled, we don’t need to always be urgently making love to one another. Though, that is pretty fun.
Our sex here is much more slow. We’re taking our time memorizing each other’s body. I want to know what every inch of her feels like. And I want to know what sensitive part of her will drive her wild.
She’s the first one to start intently focusing on more erotic areas. She starts with my breasts first. She feels and squeezes over them before leaning forward to kiss and suck on them.
I close my eyes and enjoy the sensation. I feel a knot of sexual frustration growing between my legs. I let my legs fall open as a result.
She notices this and gives me a smile. She takes one hand and begins to explore my pussy as well. She’s not being nearly as coy as last time.
She pumps her fingers in and out of me. I thrust my hips against her hand, wanting more. She adds more fingers, stretching me open.
I love how she feels when she’s inside of me. I pull her up so I can kiss her. She kisses me back and uses her thumb to rub my clit.
I feel a shudder run through my body as I orgasm. I look into her eyes as I finish around her fingers.
I clutch onto her shoulders for support. It feels like the room is spinning even though I know we’re stationary.
She uses her free arm to hold me close to her as I orgasm. Through all of the pleasure I’m feeling, I realize that I’ve never felt as close to someone as I do to her in this moment.
When I come down from the orgasm, I kiss her. I feel love wash over me as our naked bodies intertwine with one another.
Twenty
Rafaela
I hold Heather close to me as she orgasms. It turns me on so much to see her like this.
As much as I regret that the bet hurt her, I’m so happy that I’m here with her in my arms. I never want her to be away from me again. I want to always be holding her and keeping her close to me.
I feel more like myself with her than I have with any other girl. Ironic, considering our relationship initiated on some falsehoods on my part. Still, I want to live in this feeling forever.
I’m a better person when I’m with her. I’m happier too. I’ve never felt this way before about anyone else. I don’t want to feel this way about anyone else either.
I feel like I’m living just to see her smile. I look down and see a small smile playing across her lips as she cuddles into me.
“It’s your turn now,” she says. She gently pushes me on my back and gets on top of her.
Her movements are gentle. They aren’t dom-like, like what I would do.
It’s not about her wanting to dominate me. She’s trying to make me feel as good as I’ve made her feel. It’s a sweet gesture.