“We’ll have some bourbon and go to bed and hope the rhinos will go to sleep.”

  “Paige?” She hums with her eyes still closed. Sandy brushes her thumb over her bottom lip, studying her lover’s beautiful face. “Would you like me to massage your shoulders and back and see if that helps?”

  Paige hums and whispers, “That sounds good.” She opens her eyes and tilts her head to kiss Sandy. “Let’s take this party to the bedroom.”

  “I’ll get the bourbon and meet you in there.”

  They share a brief kiss, then Sandy stands and walks to wet bar while Paige goes to her bedroom. She turns the side lamps on dim and as she’s about to climb onto the bed, Sandy walks in with two glasses of bourbon.

  “Take off your top, Miss Matthews.”

  Paige releases a small laugh at the authoritative tone, and a cocky smirk spreads across Sandy’s soft pink lips. She inhales deeply as she turns to fully face Sandy and places her hands on her hips.

  “Are you trying to take advantage of my weakened state, Sandy?”

  “Maybe I’m trying to goad you into claiming your normal state of power and strength.”

  “I see.”

  Paige takes a glass of bourbon, clinks the rim with Sandy, and they take a few hearty sips while looking into each other’s eyes. After they set their glasses on the side table, Paige starts unbuttoning her silk pajama top, and she tells Sandy to strip. Once she’s fully naked, Paige climbs onto the center of the bed and lays down on her stomach, and Sandy climbs up to straddle her ass. She bends down to kiss Paige between the shoulder blades, then runs both of her hands up Paige’s back, digging the heels of her palms into her long thin muscles on either side of her spine.

  “I love your back. It’s beautiful.”

  Paige hums in response, making Sandy smile. She runs her thumbs across the muscles over her shoulder blades and around them, massaging each muscle and digging into spots that elicit moans of relief and sharp hisses of pain.

  After twenty minutes of Sandy kneading her muscles and digging into every knot, Paige’s migraine finally begins to subside some. With a sigh of relief, she props herself up on her elbows and Sandy stops.

  Looking over her shoulder with a loving smile, Paige says, “Your hands are wonderful. Come lay down next to me.”

  Sandy lays down on her back next to Paige, and Paige shifts to climb on top of her, lying flat against her. Sandy groans in pleasure and wraps her arms around her back and her legs around the back of Paige’s thighs.

  “Thank you for the massage. You actually helped lessen my migraine.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  “You don’t have to answer this right now. You can think about it for a few days if you need to. Would you like to move in with me?”

  “Are you serious? Yes, Paige, I would love to live with you. I’m already here practically every night. Are you serious?”

  “I’m completely serious.”

  Sandy releases an excited squealing laugh as she rocks Paige side to side, squeezing her tightly and making her laugh. Paige bends down and firmly bites her shoulder, making Sandy gasp, then laugh and start peppering Paige with kisses.

  “I love you, Paige. I have never loved someone as much as I love you. But wait, how will this go over at work? I mean, if I change my address to your address, they’re going to know. I thought we had to be discreet?”

  Paige shrugs a shoulder as she starts tracing Sandy’s cheekbone with the pad of her thumb. “Well, Sandy, that was before you made me fall in love with you.” Sandy grins with her bottom lip between her teeth and Paige kisses the tip of her nose. “It’s frowned upon, but there aren’t any rules in the company code of conduct against it. Since this isn’t just about sex, I’m not concerned about them finding out. Are you?”

  “No, but do you think it will be harder for us to be together at work if they know? Like, will they try to ban us from closing and locking your office door?”

  Paige releases a small laugh. “I think it’s so adorable that you’re worried I won’t be able to fuck you on my desk anymore, but you’re not worried about how the other assistants will view you.”

  “I could always find a new job if it’s too much to deal with. How do you think they’ll handle it?”

  “After something I discussed with Lauren is approved and delivered, I think they’ll likely view you as their diplomatic representative. They might drive you crazy with complaints and requests.”

  With a wide grin and blushing cheeks, Sandy asks, “What did you do, Miss Matthews?”

  “It’s a surprise. So, when are we doing dinner with your friends?”

  “Can we do it this weekend before I go home for the country music festival?”

  “Sure. Make the plans.”

  “Thank you. I love you, Paige.”

  “I love you too. Are you ready to go to sleep or are you…?” Paige slips a hand between Sandy’s thighs and smiles as she slips easily between her arousal slicked lips and Sandy inhales sharply as her eyes close to slits. “I think that answers that.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sandy jogs to her front door, expecting it to be one of her friends, but as she opens the door and sees Paige leaning against the wall across from her apartment, she releases a shrill squeal and walks out to the hall closing the door behind her to a small gap.

  Paige laughs as she pushes off of the wall and licks her lips with a smirk. “Aren’t you finally going to invite me into your apartment, Sandy?”

  Sandy doesn’t budge. She swallows hard, and quietly asks, “I thought we were meeting at the restaurant?”

  “We’re not going anywhere if you make me wait on the outside of this door a second longer.” Sandy releases an adorable groaning whimper and slowly walks backwards, pushing the door open as she walks back inside. “I invited you to live with me and the next day I realized you haven’t invited me once to your apartment. Why is that?”

  Sandy nervously bites her bottom lip as she watches Paige walk ahead of her into the small studio apartment and walk around in a circle, looking around the simply furnished room. The living room, bedroom, and kitchen are one room with the small bathroom being the only space separated with additional walls, which is just off of the “bedroom.” The apartment is small and the furniture is simple, but it’s clean, smells nice, and it has charming reflections of Sandy on every wall and in every corner. Paige lifts a picture off of a bookcase and smiles as she turns to face Sandy, who still looks nervous and embarrassed.

  “This is a good picture of you. Are these your sisters?”

  Sandy nods as she slowly walks forward, and with a shaking hand, she points to each girl, saying, “This is Eliza, this is Ashley, and this is Jonnie. I wish you were coming with me to meet everyone next month.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Paige sets the frame down and puts her hands in the front pockets of her jeans as she faces Sandy with a guarded expression. “You don’t even want me in your apartment. Do you really want to bring me to Nashville to see the home you grew up in?”

  Sandy blushes as she looks down in shame. She twists her hands in front of herself, and stumbling over her words, she says, “I do want you to come with me. I’m just… Your place is so incredible. You have a mansion on the beach in Miami. This place is…”

  “This place is just fine. Actually, it’s better than my first apartment. Sandy, you work damn hard for everything you have. There is no shame in that. Even after I told you about my upbringing and how much I struggled through college and the first few years after, you still think I can’t see the value of your hard work?”

  “I just didn’t want you to think that I’m with you as a way to fast-lane my way out of here. I’m not ashamed of my apartment. I mean, in comparison to your condo, it’s definitely nothing great. But it’s the first place I’ve lived on my own and pay for completely on my own.”

  “And that’s something to be proud of. Why haven’t you invited me over?”

  Sandy takes a deep breath as she walks forward and places her hands on the top of Paige’s chest. She glances around the apartment, saying, “I’m comfortable here, but that’s because I’ve been living like this for years.” She looks at Paige and her blush deepens. “You live a life of luxury. I just didn’t think you would be comfortable here.”

  “Removing me as a factor, where are you the most comfortable, here or my condo?”

  Sandy smiles as she kisses Paige’s lips. “I’m comfortable here because I’m used to it now. It wasn’t like I felt like I had a room at the Ritz or something when I first moved in. It took time to make this place a home. Even though half of my friends have studios, it still makes me a little uncomfortable that my bedroom is just right there on display when I have people over. I like privacy and that’s pretty much impossible here. Given the choice, I obviously will choose something better. I didn’t say yes to move in with you for that reason though. I want to live with you because I love you and I love spending time with you. It’s just a bonus that I love your condo.”

  Paige pulls her hands out of her pockets to wrap her arms around Sandy’s waist. “Do you feel comfortable with being able to invite your friends to the condo after you move in?”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t do that if you don’t want me to. I mean, it’s your place and…”

  “Sandy, stop. I want to know if you would be able to relax and enjoy the company of your friends after you move in. I don’t want you to feel like a guest. I want you to feel like it’s your home, like you have made this apartment your home.”

  “I think I’ll be able to answer that better after tonight. If you end up hating my friends, it’s going to be pretty hard feeling comfortable inviting them over.”

  “That’s fair. Okay, we’ll get through tonight, then you tell me if you still want to move in.”

  “What? No, Paige, I still want to move in with you.”

  Paige grins as she tightens her arms around Sandy and lifts. Sandy giggles and wraps her long legs around Paige’s waist. As she starts walking, Paige asks, “Do you know one good thing about a studio apartment? It takes less time to get you to the bed.” Sandy squeals with a giant smile as Paige tosses her onto her double bed. “So, am I being a horribly rude guest in your apartment, or do I have permission to make love to you now?”

  Sandy sits up with a grin and grabs the waist of Paige’s jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them. “I want you right now.” As she pushes her hands in at Paige’s hips and pushes her pants down, she pauses and looks up into Paige’s eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t invite you over here. I should have. Do you forgive me?”

  “Yes, I forgive you. Would you like to stay here tonight after the outing with your friends?”

  “I think maybe I would like to have at least one memory of the great Paige Matthews walking around naked in my tiny studio apartment before I move in with you.”

  Paige laughs and nods as she bends down to kiss Sandy. “Then, tonight, I am going to make love to you on every possible surface in this apartment to help make that memory as amazing as possible. Just in case you only allow me to stay the night with you this once.”

  Sandy laughs as she grips the sides of Paige’s open jeans and yanks her down on top of herself. In a flurry of flying limbs and clothes, they rip each other’s clothes off, tossing them haphazardly, not at all caring where they land. As they land with Sandy on her back and Paige on top of her, their lips lock in a passionate kiss. Paige pulls Sandy’s legs up, bringing her knees to her ribs to open her up, and she thrusts forward, grinding their pussies together. Sandy moans deeply into Paige’s mouth and grips her shoulders as she shudders in pleasure. She palms her hands down Paige’s back and grips her small firm ass, pulling her in harder against her pussy, making both of them moan. Sandy’s head falls back, breaking their lips apart. With every grinding thrust of Paige’s hips, Sandy releases a gasping groan of pleasure and her hands yank Paige in tighter.

  “Oh, fuck!”

  “You are so sexy when you’re like this. Cum for me, Sandy.”

  “Almost. Oh, fuck, so good. Oh!”

  Paige continues to rotate her hips in a hard, quick pattern, making the bed creak, and a few minutes later, Sandy releases a screaming moan of ecstasy as her orgasm rips through her. She loses her grip on Paige’s ass and claws at the sheets for something to hold onto then grabs the pillow she’s laying on as she arches up against Paige.

  “Oh, fuck! Oh, Paige, that was so good. Oh, god, I love you.”

  Paige kisses her lips as she releases Sandy’s legs and starts crawling up her body. Sandy groans and grips her ass hard again as Paige straddles her face. Paige gasps and places her hands on the wall to steady herself as Sandy latches onto her swollen clit, sucking her hard and flicking the tip with her tongue. Even after she cums, Sandy doesn’t stop. She pushes Paige into three orgasms before Paige grabs her head, indicating she should stop, and Paige weakly dismounts her head to lay down next to her.

  Sandy rolls over to lay on Paige’s chest, layering a thigh over Paige’s. She rubs up and down the center of Paige’s chest and up the side of her neck soothingly while Paige’s breathing and heartrate come back down to normal.

  “Thanks for coming over. There’s been so many nights that I’ve been lying awake in bed missing you and thinking about you and wanting to ask you to come over. I’m really looking forward to living with you soon.”

  “Me too, Sandy. When do you want to start moving in?”

  “Right now.” They laugh a little and Sandy kisses her breast. “I guess whenever we have time. I’ll have to get some boxes.”

  “I want to help you pack.”

  Sandy bites her bottom lip with a cute grin, and says, “That could be fun. Have you lived with a partner before? I mean, I’m sure you have, but I guess I mean in the condo.”

  “You’re adorable when you try to get me to talk about my past relationships with these roundabout questions.” Paige takes a deep breath as she runs a hand over Sandy’s head to cup the back of her neck and pull her up to firmly kiss her lips for several moments. “Okay, we’ll do this now.”

  Paige pauses to take another deep breath and Sandy places a hand on her cheek, looking concerned. She brushes her hand through Paige’s hair and traces her fingertips around the curve of Paige’s ear and down the side of her neck. She has so many questions she wants to ask, but she doesn’t want to rush or overwhelm Paige and cause her to shy away from this subject again.

  After a couple of minutes of silently gathering her thoughts, Paige finally says, “I’ll start with answering your questions. Yes, I have lived with previous partners. I have lived with three. And no, none of those partners lived in the condo with me. I moved into that particular condo two years ago and haven’t had a serious enough relationship in that time to invite someone to move in, until you.”

  “Paige, I’m so… I mean… We’ve only been together for like…” She thinks, then asks, “Two months? Why am I different?”

  “Yes, we’ve only been together for two months, so why are you accepting my offer?”

  Sandy narrows her eyes in a pout as she sits up, shifting side to side to pulls the covers out from under her. As Paige joins her, Sandy pulls the sheet up to their chests, clearly looking upset, but she allows Paige to take one of her hands to hold on her lap.

  “Fine, I’ll answer first.” Paige gives her a triumphant grin and bumps shoulders with her, making Sandy roll her eyes with a scoffing laugh and playfully slap her arm. “I don’t have some super calculated reason. I just know I love you more than I’ve ever loved another person, even though you’re so guarded with telling me about yourself. I mean, even though you haven’t shared as much with me about your past as I have with you, I still feel like I know you. I know your heart and I know you would never do anything to hurt me. I have never trusted another person as much as I trust you. With anyone else, moving in this soon would be impulsive and irresponsible. It’s not easy finding a decent apartment in the city that is affordable and not located on a super dangerous block. With anyone else, I wouldn’t be willing to give up my apartment and risk things ending in four months to a year. But I just feel something in my gut that you want this to last just as much as I do. And if it takes a year to learn the basics of your past, I’m okay with that, because I still know the kind of person you are and that’s what matters.”

  “Did you know Tennessee has two state flowers, the purple passionflower and the iris?”

  Sandy smiles with her eyes misting over. “Yes. Did you look that up after we started dating or did you just happen to know it?”

  “I looked it up on your first day. I asked Lauren to send me your resume and her interview notes and I studied you, as much of you as I could find, which happened to include a great deal of information on Tennessee, and specifically Nashville. I don’t like being a part of the selection process, but I always study the resume and interview notes after a new assistant starts. With you, however, I went a bit further. Which, if I’m being honest, was a little inappropriate because I wasn’t doing it to get to know my employee better. I was doing it to learn more about a woman I was extremely attracted to. I have selfishly absorbed as much information about you as I can without seeming like a fanatic, all while I avoided discussing myself. And somehow, you still fell in love with me and trust me so completely. That is why I asked you to move in with me.”

  With tears in her eyes, Sandy straddles Paige’s lap and grabs the sides of her face, pulling her into a passionate kiss. Paige runs her hands up Sandy’s bare thighs, around her hips, and up her thin back, pulling their torsos in flush.

  After a few minutes, Sandy pulls away panting for air and blurry eyed. She places a few fingers on Paige’s chin, as if to hold her back, and breathlessly says, “You have not been selfish, but I do want to know more about you, when you’re ready.”

  Paige looks at the clock on the wall. “I think we have run out of time for now. We’re supposed to meet your friends soon. How about we pick up this conversation about my past relationships tomorrow?”