Chapter 2
Along with her feelings, Maura's thoughts were all over the place. Ever since their passionate kiss earlier, Maura couldn't keep her mind off of Jane. So many thoughts went through her head but the one thought that kept repeating itself was the fact that she wanted to feel Jane's kisses all over her body. And now that she had Jane's mark on her as a reminder, she couldn't help but to think about it. A brisk cold breeze rushed by Maura's face as she wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck.
"Damn, it's freezing out," Jane said as she took Maura's hand and pulled her out of the flow of holiday shopper traffic. "Come over here, those people are going to run you over, Maur."
It was then that she noticed that she had been daydreaming, and standing in everyone's way. "Oh, thanks." She said as she let Jane lead her over to a bench sitting in front of the place where they were to meet Angela and Hope. She sat down quietly.
"Are you alright?" Jane looked at her and smiled. "You look like you're about to turn into an icicle. Let's go inside and wait for them?"
"No, I'm fine, really." Maura said as she tapped Jane's leg. "I'm not really that cold." She left her hand there on Jane's leg, gently caressing it. Of course Jane noticed it. How could she not?
She looked down at Maura's hand and then back up at her. "You look so beautiful right now."
"Aww, thanks, Jane." She blushed as she chuckled lightly. "I barely applied anything to my face today."
Jane's dark brown eyes scanned over her, narrowing with an emotion that Maura knew all too well. "Do you really need anything to make you any more beautiful?" Jane smiled softly as she moved closer to Maura and put her arm around her.
"I like this." Maura sighed contently.
"What?"
"This… You and I like this."
Jane laughed, "Oh yeah?"
"Yes." Maura's bright smile lit up Jane's day. "You know you do too."
Jane nodded, "It's definitely something I could get used to." Her voice had lowered to a tone that was none other than pure seduction. "Hey, I need to tell you something." She said just above a whisper.
"What is it?" Maura said leaning closer so she could hear her whisper over the noise of everything going on around them.
"Closer," Jane said as she motioned for Maura to come closer. When Maura had her ear a few millimeters away from Jane's mouth, Jane cupped Maura's ear with her hands and, being the naughty girl that she was, began kissing her lightly on her earlobe.
"Oh my… Mmm." Maura sighed as a flash of arousal prickled her entire body instantly. She licked her lips, leaning into Jane's kiss as Jane's hot breath tickled her ear. She closed her eyes, purely enjoying this pleasurable sensation.
Jane captured Maura's ear softly, slowly tracing the outer rim of her ear lobe with her warm and trembling tongue. Her lips closed around the lower lobe, as her tongue twirled Maura's earring in her mouth. Jane could feel Maura trembling in her arms.
To passersby, it looked like Jane was telling her a secret. Jane was so freaking mischievous. And Maura loved every bit of it. Maura felt like she was floating off of the bench as Jane's warm tongue dipped inside of her ear.
"Jane…," her name literally dripped off of Maura's lips like sweet honey. It didn't matter if it was the freaking arctic outside, Maura couldn't feel one ounce of the cold. She had been set ablaze with passion. "Take me home… Please."
"You like that don't you?" Jane whispered.
Maura just nodded as she leaned in further, hoping to intensify the sensation. Suddenly Jane pulled away, leaving Maura's world spinning rapidly.
"Oh shit, here comes Ma and Hope." Jane said as she nodded her head towards their mothers walking up the side walk to meet them.
"What? No…" Maura groaned. She detached from Jane and shook off her arousal. She hopped to her feet and greeted them with a kiss. She turned back to look at Jane who was rising from her seat with an amused look on her face. Maura narrowed her eyes at her and mouthed the words: I'm going to get you, to Jane.
Jane raised her eyebrows flirtatiously, in effect accepting her threat as a promise. She came to her side and put her arm around her waist.
"Let's go eat. I'm starving!" She said as she motioned for everyone to go inside.
Once inside, they had to wait for a table momentarily. While they were standing there, Jane purposely didn't touch Maura. She wanted her to long for her touch as much as she longed for hers. Someone once told her that that was a great way of building intimacy in a relationship. Learning to anticipate one another. Every so often, Maura would look over at Jane and smile as she carried on her chit chat with Hope.
"Have you girls done much shopping today?" Angela asked.
"Not much yet. Possibly after we dine." Maura answered.
Angela frowned a bit, "Maura, honey, are you okay?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"You just look a little flushed."
Maura looked at Jane, who shrugged her shoulders, "I think she's just cold. I'm sure she just needs something inside of her to warm her up." She leaned in closer to her, "Right, Maur?"
The look Maura gave her was priceless. She cleared her throat as she felt the heat rising into her cheeks. "Yes, um… I'm just a tad chilly. Some warm soup will do the trick."
"Great. I'd hate to have you get sick before the Christmas party!" Angela nudged Hope and giggled. "I hear it's going to be great."
A moment later the hostess seated them at their table. Mothers got in first, and Jane was about to sit next to Hope, when Angela waved at her.
"Actually, Hope could you sit by me? I want to show you some curtains I plan on buying myself for Christmas."
"Absolutely!" Hope chirped.
Hope jumped up quickly and slid in before Jane could protest. Jane shook her head and laughed. She was glad their mothers were becoming buddies, but she made a mental note to watch them; mainly because the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. The last thing she wanted was their mothers turning into girlfriends. That would totally complicate things.
She slid into the booth beside Maura. The smile on Maura's face melted her heart into soup. She wanted so badly to kiss her lips. But anticipation was a powerful emotion. Jane noticeably glanced down and Maura's lips and then back up at her eyes and smiled. She was such a flirt.
Jane sat back against the booth and rested her hand on Maura's thigh. Maura reached down and covered Jane's hand with hers. With her free hand, Jane thumbed through the menu.
"What are you going to have?"
"I'm in the mood for something home-style and savory." She squeezed Jane's hand. "Pick something for me."
"Hmm," Jane said as she mused over the menu. "I think I'm having the grilled cheese and tomato soup."
"That sounds delicious." Maura said softly. "Would you like to share?"
Jane looked at her sideways and frowned, "Hell no. Get your own, babe."
Maura chuckled and without thinking, she took off her scarf and tossed it beside her. Jane's eyes widened as she realized that the mark she left looked like someone had punched Maura in the throat. It looked painful to say the least!
Before she could warn her that her mark was showing, Hope caught sight of it.
"Oh my goodness, Maura, what happened?" Hope gasped suddenly causing Angela to turn her attention towards her as well.
"What?" Maura was temporarily confused because of course it didn't hurt as bad as it looked.
"Your neck sweetheart… what happened to it?"
Maura eyes bugged out and she brought her hand involuntarily up to cover it. A second later she lowered her hand. She wasn't ashamed. She was actually quite honored to know that Jane desired her so much that it made her do something crazy like that.
"It's nothing," she said immediately blushing.
"Nothing?" Hope said, "Let me look at that. Did you fall?"
"No, it's just a bite." Maura suppressed a laugh when she saw Jane shuffle in her seat. She turned to her and smiled.
"Oh, a bite? From what? A spider? It looks awful."
Angela of course was sitting back and watching the girls' body language. And the main fact that Jane refused to look at her, made her realize that Jane was in fact, the naughty neck biter. A slight smile crossed her face. As she saw Maura turning redder and redder, she softly nudged Hope on the arm.
Hope turned to her with a puzzled expression, and Angela leaned over and spoke something quietly into her ear. Just like her daughter, Hope too began to blush.
"Oh, my… Um," she was at such a loss for words, that she simply buried her face into the menu.
Jane copied her and scanned over the menu for a 10th time, while Maura locked gazes with Angela. Angela tipped her head towards the restroom area and Maura nodded in agreement.
"Excuse me; I need to go to the restroom." She said as she waited for Jane to let her out of the booth. Jane let her out and Maura disappeared into the back.
The waiter returned to get the orders and then quickly left again. After a moment, Angela got up and went to check on Maura, leaving Jane and Hope sitting in an awkward silence. Finally Hope looked up at Jane and smiled.
"So how have things been, Jane?" Hope's voice was trembling on a giggle, "Pretty good I see?"
Jane ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. "You are so funny." She chuckled.
"Well, I think I have a sense of humor. You don't think so?"
Jane smiled wide and laughed. "If you weren't Maura's mother, I would have to disagree."
Hope chuckled and sipped on her tea. "Did you really put that mark on her, Jane? It looks painful."
"I know, I didn't mean to do it… I mean, I did but not that hard."
Hope nodded. "Just last week, you were determined not to tell her how you felt about her, what happened to change that?"
Jane sighed heavily and stared at Hope with a little bit of sadness in her eyes. Hope recognized it right away.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Maura's got some secret admirer, and I don't know what to fucking do about it, honestly."
"What do you mean 'do about it'?"
Jane sighed and sat back against the booth, "I mean, you should see the smile on her face when she gets those flowers. Man, I can't compete with whoever this is. I mean, obviously, he's one step ahead of me."
"How so?"
Jane leaned forward as to divulge a juicy secret, "Everything that I've thought of, this motherfucker did it before me. I just don't get it."
"Oh... That's odd." Hope said blankly. "How is that possible?"
"You tell me how it's possible? Because I surely don't know, but I do know it's getting a little weird." Jane forced the tears to stay inside.
"Please don't cry. Regardless of what this secret admirer does, Maura loves you Jane and you know that. Hell, we all know it."
"I'm not crying," she said swiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm just mad and I want to know who this is."
"I know you do."
Jane sat quietly for a moment, and then she looked up at Hope and smiled. "So, I took your advice and I kissed her."
"Oh that's wonderful! How did she react?"
Jane laughed, "No comment."
Hope laughed out, "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, it's just a little weird to be talking about it with her mother, you know?"
"I understand." Hope smiled sweetly and Jane realized now where Maura got all of her good looks. Hope was stunning, just like Maura.
Jane sighed. "She responded in a very… Um, positive way."
"That's great. You see I told you. If she's anything like me, she will appreciate you showing her how you feel about her. And then remember, anticipation builds intimacy."
"It sure does. I swear to god, I totally wanted to f—," Jane caught herself in time. She rubbed her hands over her mouth and looked towards the bathroom. "I kinda wish I was a guy sometimes."
"Why on Earth would you wish that?"
Jane just looked at her and shook her head, "Duh."
Hope blushed a little. "Oh my, yes I understand." She took a sip of her tea, "You don't necessarily have to be a man in order to please a woman thoroughly. You just need the desire to please her, and the willingness to do and be whoever she wants you to be."
Damn, that made so much sense! "What the heck do you know about that?" Jane laughed a little.
Hope's expression became serious and she leaned forward to Jane, "Just because I had children with men doesn't mean that a man was the one who held my heart. There was someone else… A female."
"Are you serious?"
Hope nodded, "She was my best friend, and I shared everything with her. She was my heart."
"Wow. I had no idea."
"No one really knows," Hope said as her eyes glazed over with a memory of this lost love. "I told you to make this point. The love that she and I made was magical. She was much like you. She worried that she didn't have the right equipment to please me. We soon found out that neither one of us needed penises in order to please one another. We already had what we needed."
"And what was that?" For some reason, Hope's words were hitting Jane really hard.
"We had each other's hearts. And that is the most important possession in love. If you have her heart, you've got all you need."
Jane sat back and stared at her. She was in awe. Hope never ceased to amaze her. "Thanks, Hope. That makes me feel better."
Hope nodded and tipped her head towards Angela and Maura coming back to the table. "Let's talk more about this later?"
"Sure."
Maura and Angela returned just as the food was being set on the table. Maura didn't say much upon her return, she just sat and ate quietly. Jane kept meditating on Hope's words as they buzzed around in her heart. She wondered what her mother had said to Maura in the bathroom and why Maura was so quiet.
Was she upset? Jane looked over at her and Maura returned her gaze with a warm smile. Her eyes shimmered in the light above their table. Jane couldn't help but to smile back at this beautiful creature. Her body yearned for Maura's touch and she wondered if Maura would ever yearn for her as much as she did her.
"This is delicious," Maura finally said as she took a bit of her grilled cheese sandwich.
"Did the soup warm you up?"
"Yes, it certainly did. Thank you."
Jane reached over and slid her hand behind Maura and pulled her closer into her. She wanted to be as close to her as possible.
Maura looked up at their mothers, who were not paying them any attention. She wished that Jane would just finish where she left off earlier. Jane had discovered a new erogenous zone that set Maura ablaze. She thought she knew her body pretty well, but this one was new news for her.
Jane just gazed at Maura, never saying a word. Her eyes said so many things, Maura was certain that if they were in a different setting, say at home, Jane would be all over her. She hoped she was right at least.
"I love the way you look at me." Maura whispered to Jane.
Jane smiled and leaned in, kissing her firmly on the cheek. Maura closed her eyes and pressed her face against Jane's lips. This felt so right. She loved being wanted by Jane. She felt the heat from Jane's body and naturally it warmed her like her very own blanket. She liked that; Jane as her blanket. She would always feel and be secure with her.
Next thing they realized, the waiter was back at the table, clearing his throat for their attention.
"Excuse me, this is for you," he said to Maura as he placed a dessert dish of apple cinnamon crunch cake with caramel drizzles in front of her.
"I'm sorry," Maura said looking at him oddly. "I didn't order this."
He nodded. "Compliments of one of our patrons, ma'am. Please enjoy." He said as he turned and walked away.
Maura stared at the dessert and then she looked over at Jane who was also staring at it. She looked like she was trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened.
"Wow, that's so nice!" Angela said.
Maura smiled, "Yes, it is." She didn't have to wonder, she knew it was from her secret admirer. And that meant that he was there at the restaurant! She smiled at Jane nervously.
Jane eventually looked up at her, and craned her eyebrow, "Yeah, that's so nice." She forced a smile.
"Oh, it's always so nice to get an unexpected gift. Eat it, honey." Angela said as she handed Maura a fork.
"Oh, no," She said lightly patting her tummy, "I'm stuffed."
"It looks delicious." Angela said eyeing it.
"Why don't you have it, Angela," Maura said sliding the plate to her, "I would hate for this nice gesture to go to waste." What she really wanted to say was, 'Hurry up and take this before Jane blows her top!'
"Oh heavens no. That will go straight to my hips." The women laughed at Angela's joke and Jane sat back against her seat.
She turned her head slowly and surveyed the room, looking for the sonofabitch who was trying to woo her woman. Her eyes never fell upon any usual suspect. She sighed heavily and looked back at Maura.
"I'll take it," she said softly as she smiled and grabbed a fork. She cut into the crunch cake and dipped it into her mouth. It was delicious. She was aware that Maura was watching her. So she gave her something to look at. She took another chunk of the cake, but this time she dipped it into her mouth slowly, tasting the morsel of cake between her lips. She pulled the fork out slowly as she raked it over her lips. And then just to be sure, she artfully licked the remaining crumbs off of her lips.
"Oh my god…" Maura sighed just below a whisper. Of course Jane heard her, because she was sitting right next to her. "Is it good?" Her voice a tad higher this time.
"It's delicious, you want some?"
Maura nodded briskly, "Yes, I want some…"
Jane glanced over at Hope who had cut her eyes over to her briefly. She then cut a piece of the cake onto the fork and held it up to Maura's mouth, waiting for her to take it. Maura's eyes met Jane's and they shimmered like jewels. Jane brought the cake to Maura's mouth and fed her a piece.
Maura closed her lips around the fork and pulled the cake into her mouth. She moaned lightly. "Wow, delicious."
Jane nodded and agreed with her, finishing the cake in silence. One thing was for sure. If that motherfucker was in the restaurant like Jane assumed he was, he was going to see that she ran this goddamn show, and regardless of what he does to impress her lady, the simple fact remained… Maura belonged to her.
Moments later Jane couldn't take the thought of being watched by the admirer any longer so she got up and grabbed Maura's hand.
"Hey come on, let's get out of here."
"But, what about Hope and Angela?" Maura protested.
Jane took out a few bills and placed them down on the table. "Ma, take care of our bill for me, please?"
"Certainly, honey. Bye!" Angela waved at them as Jane pulled Maura out of the restaurant.
Jane was pulling her quickly barely allowing her a chance to put her coat on.
"Jane, slow down. I need to put my jacket on."
But Jane didn't respond, her eyes were darting back and forth, scanning, looking for the perfect place. There, she found it…
Jane pulled Maura into the alleyway between a vacant shop and a small fabric store. When they were out of sight, she took Maura and pushed her firmly up against the wall, securing her hands against it as she stared at her. Maura's lips trembled as she looked into Jane's dark and seductive eyes.
Jane pressed her body against Maura's, and slowly released her hands as she moved her own hands underneath Maura's shirt, touching her softly. Maura shivered to her touch. Maura reached up and wrapped her arms around Jane's neck as Jane leaned in to kiss her.
"I'll be gentle this time," Jane whispered as she grazed her lips across Maura's lips.
Maura moaned lightly at the sensation of Jane's lips dancing across her. "You don't have to be gentle." She said before grasping Jane's lips with a kiss.
Their kiss deepened, as their passion rose. Maura pulled Jane into the kiss, refusing to allow her a spare moment to breathe. They both tasted the sweetness of the dessert on the other's tongue and the saltiness of tears. One of them was shedding a few, but they were too engrossed in the kiss to care. Maura sucked Jane's tongue deep into her mouth, nibbling on it gently. At the height of their feverish kiss, both Jane and Maura hit a point where their pace slowed down and they literally began to sink into one another. It was like a spiritual orgasm.
Maura slowly pulled Jane into a loving embrace as she rested her head on Maura's shoulder, gently strumming her fingers through her hair.
"I want you so badly," Jane confessed. "I don't want to lose you."
Maura pulled Jane's lips to hers and pressed them together in a sweet trembling kiss. "Do you love me?" Doubt didn't cause her to ask, pure need did.
Jane nodded her head briskly. "Yes, I do." Her eyes glistened as she kissed her again. "I love you so much…" She kissed her lightly again as Maura laced her fingers through her hair, guiding her in the kiss. "I need you to love me too." Jane sighed into Maura's mouth.
"Jane…" Maura whimpered, before Jane cut her off with another kiss.
"Please tell me you love me."
Maura pulled away and looked her in the eyes. "You know I love you, Jane." Maura searched her eyes. She thought Jane already knew how she felt, but she guessed she needed reassurance.
Jane reached up and held Maura's hands that were clasped in her hair. "I need to hear you say it."
Maura realizing that Jane was serious gazed into her eyes. She wanted Jane to know and be sure that her love was real.
"There's no one and no thing on the face of this planet that I love more than I love you…" She kissed her lightly, "And there never will be anything or anyone more important to me than you are to me."
A wave of relief rippled through Jane's body as a smile crossed her face. She pulled Maura into a quiet embrace, each woman taking a moment to meditate on what just happened. They had just confessed their love for one another. And no one freaked out, no one tried to run off… They were still there together.
And that's exactly where they should be.
Eventually Jane pulled away, "Let's skip shopping for a while and go back to your place?"
"Okay, what would you like to do?"
Jane shrugged, "I have something for you that I thought you would like."
"Oh? What is it?"
Jane put her arm around her and guided her back onto the main walkway, "You'll have to be patient. But I will tell you that it's something that you've been waiting a very long time for."
The smile that followed Jane's statement was so bright that it lit up all of Boston. Fuck those expensive flowers. Jane was the only one who could make her smile like this.
Jane offered Maura her arm and she took it quickly, "Come on, let's go home."
Note: I hope you all enjoyed this update. Some may have already figured it out, but I hope my writing is not that transparent. I'll update within the next day or so. I'm really enjoying writing this one. Thanks for your comments. I enjoy reading what you guys think.