Joanna knew there was no turning back now. Macon’s expression told her she was building toward release. She wouldn’t stop that for anything. She had one of her own building as well and wondered who would come first.

  “Make,” she panted out when she felt Macon’s thigh hit her clit in just the right way.

  Then, Macon stilled. Joanna figured the woman had come and just did so silently, but Macon lifted up and looked down at her with such concern and wonder at the same time.

  “I don’t want it like this,” she said after a moment and was clearly short of breath.

  “What?”

  “I want all of you,” Macon explained. “I don’t want us to come together for the first time fully clothed like this.”

  “Then, take–” Joanna began and tried to tug at Macon’s shirt.

  “No, Jo.” Macon sat back up, still straddling one of Joanna’s thighs. “We said we wouldn’t tonight. And as much as I want to right now – and trust me, I do want to – what we said before I essentially attacked you with my lips was true.”

  “But you’re almost there; I can tell,” Joanna replied.

  “I’ve been almost there since I saw you on the street a few hours ago.” Macon smiled at her. “You turn me on just by being around, Jo.” She leaned back down and kissed her gently on the lips before rolling off her and staring up at the ceiling. “Um… Am I a major bitch for stopping us? I mean, were you…” She turned only her head to Joanna, who was still staring up at the ceiling, reeling from the loss of warmth and pressure. “Were you-”

  “Turned on?” she interrupted Macon and then blew out a deep breath. “Yes, Macon. I was and still am incredibly turned on, and about to come.” She turned her head and gave Macon a smile that told her while she’d been absolutely serious, she also understood Macon’s reasoning.

  “I’m sorry.” Macon turned onto her side to place a gentle hand on Joanna’s cheek. “If you can tell me this is what you want right now, I will happily tear your clothes off. But I’m also happy with us just doing this and me getting to touch you.” She moved that hand to Joanna’s hip and ran it lightly under her shirt and around her back. “Like this,” she added. “I’ve never gotten to do this. I would love to do just this until we fall asleep.”

  “Fine. But if our friends ever ask about our first night together after your whirlwind world tour, you’d have to tell them that you were the one who stopped us from having sex for the first time.” She winked at Macon and loved the smile she got in return.

  “My reputation will take a major hit.”

  “Babe, I think your reputation flew out the window the moment you and I decided to do this.” She moved her body closer to Macon’s and ran her hand up the front of Macon’s shirt, placing it between her breasts. “Earlier outside, when Gail and I hugged, you apparently felt it was a little too long. You said I was yours.”

  “I did.” Macon laughed.

  “Did you mean that?”

  “I told you I’d ask you to be my girlfriend when I saw you in person,” she stated without answering the question.

  “You did say that, yes.” Joanna smiled.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for that? For me to be your girlfriend? You’ve never had one of those before.”

  “Ask me.”

  “Will you–”

  “Yes,” she interrupted Macon and smiled before leaning in and capturing the woman’s lips in a sweet kiss.

  “What if I was going to ask you something else?” Macon laughed when they pulled apart a moment later.

  “Were you?” Joanna lifted an eyebrow.

  “No.”

  “So, I have a girlfriend?” Joanna asked her.

  “Yes, you do.” Macon pointed at her and squinted. “Off limits now.”

  Joanna could only laugh at that as she asked, “And you?”

  “I’ve been off limits since I met you, Jo.”

  CHAPTER 18

  “Macon?” Joanna rubbed the woman’s back gently.

  “Huh?”

  “Babe, breakfast is here,” Joanna said.

  “What time is it?” Macon still hadn’t opened her eyes.

  “It’s eight. You ordered it for eight. I heard the knock.”

  “I thought I wrote down nine.” She opened one eye to see Joanna sitting on the edge of the bed next to her.

  “You wrote down eight. But it smells really good. I poured you coffee.” She smiled down at her.

  “Does it have a heart in it?” Macon rolled over onto her back and smirked up at her.

  “It’s not that kind of coffee, and I still can’t believe I did that.” She moved to stand, but Macon’s hand was on her arm.

  “Hey, come here,” she invited with a soft, still groggy voice that Joanna found sexy.

  Joanna leaned down. Macon’s hand went to the back of her neck, pulling her in for a brief good morning kiss.

  “Morning,” Joanna greeted.

  “Sorry I got us out of bed earlier than expected,” Macon replied and pecked her lips again.

  “Well, my alarm went off the last time we spent the night together. I guess we’re even.”

  “And you made me an artful and delicious coffee when that happened. What am I supposed to do for you today?”

  “Well, that’s a loaded question.” Joanna stood. “After breakfast, what’s on your agenda?” She walked into the living room of the suite toward the table that room service had set for them. “And I know I surprised you. I don’t expect you to change any of your plans for me. I can check stuff out myself or just hang out here.”

  “I’m supposed to go to campus. I’m meeting with three violin students. They’ve each prepared a piece they want me to review. Then, I have to practice in one of the music rooms for a couple of hours, but I can skip that today.”

  “No, don’t.” Joanna turned back to see Macon following behind her. “You should practice if that’s what you were planning on doing.”

  “I don’t want to miss time with you while you’re here,” Macon said, then lifted Joanna’s still somewhat messy hair away from her neck and kissed the back of it.

  “I could watch you practice.”

  “Not exactly what I had in mind there, Jo.” Macon wrapped her arms around Joanna from behind. “I was thinking we could eat our breakfast and go check out a few of the sights, then grab lunch before I have to do the reviews at two. That won’t take more than a couple of hours. Then, we can walk around some more, come back here to change, and go to a nice dinner somewhere, taking a romantic after-dinner stroll along the water later; maybe in the North End. There are some amazing Italian restaurants there. We can come back here after that and – I don’t know – watch a movie and just be together.” She squeezed Joanna tightly. “I don’t care what we do, honestly. I just want to be with you.” She kissed Joanna’s shoulder.

  “You should still practice.”

  Macon laughed and released her.

  “Fine. I’ll practice for one hour,” she agreed. “You know what’s weird but also not?” Macon asked.

  “What?”

  “That, despite the addition of the physical element to our relationship, everything else is still the same. You still call me on shit, and we still banter back and forth.”

  “Did you think that would change when we started dating?” Joanna picked up her orange juice and sipped.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never really had that with any of the women I’ve dated. You know I haven’t exactly been in many long-term relationships.”

  “And this is long-term for you?”

  “Is it not for you?”

  “You know how last night you said you’re hoping to end at ten?”

  “You’re bringing up sex again? Really?”

  “I’m hoping to end at eleven.” Joanna stabbed at her eggs and didn’t bother to check on Macon’s reaction, knowing she’d be smiling at the thought of being Joanna’s last lover.

  “You sure you only want to be with me? There are other women who love women who would love to have their chance with you. I know because I’ve seen them hit on you in the bars. You sure you want to settle down with little old me?”

  Joanna knew she was only kidding, but the thought of being with anyone other than Macon was completely unappealing to her.

  “Make?”

  “Yeah?” Macon took a bite of her eggs.

  “Don’t do that anymore, okay?”

  “Do what?”

  “Don’t suggest I would want to be with anyone other than you, okay? You’re who I want. I don’t need to know what it’s like to have sex with another woman. I don’t need to hold another woman’s hand or kiss another woman. I want you. I need those things with you. You are exactly who I want. You are perfect for me,” Joanna stated confidently and watched Macon practically melt as she did.

  “Okay,” she replied.

  “I’m sitting across from my best friend, who is now my girlfriend. We’re having breakfast after she surprised me and flew across the country for me. We have this whole day planned together. I can stare at her all the time now, and it doesn’t matter if she notices, because we’re together. I can even check out her ass without having to look away when she turns around, because it’s okay if she catches me. I can even tell her that I have an early show tomorrow: a matinée that starts at noon. And my parents will be there, because they’re flying in late tonight and staying through Wednesday so they can see me play back in Boston. I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want to make you feel like you have to meet them if you don’t want to. And they can be assholes sometimes, so you should really feel fine saying no, and I won’t mention you were in town this weekend,” Macon rattled off.

  “Your parents are coming into town tonight?”

  “Their flight doesn’t land until after eleven. They’re going straight to their hotel, which is several blocks away from this one, because they’re members at the Camden chain.” She took another drink of her coffee. “They don’t know about you, because if my mom knew about you, she’d have to meet you immediately, and it would be more about my career than you.”

  “What do you mean?” Joanna sipped on her own coffee.

  “You know my mom is not a fan of gay.”

  “I remember.” She finished her bacon.

  “I’ve never introduced her to any of the women I’ve dated mainly because of that. It wouldn’t have been fair to them when I wasn’t sure if the relationship was serious enough or going to last. When I did tell my mom I was dating someone, though, she only wanted to know how it messed with my rehearsal schedule. She only cares about my playing. If I brought a man home, she’d open the door and bake him a damn cake; but a woman is an inconvenience to my playing.”

  “I’m sorry, Make.” Joanna placed a hand palm up on the table and waited for Macon to place her hand on top. “My flight is at four. I can head to the airport before the show, or I can still go but just be in the audience. I’ll say goodbye to you before. I don’t have to meet them if you don’t want me to.”

  “I do.” Macon squeezed her hand. “I’m being selfish because I don’t think she’s going to be welcoming. But my dad and I have an okay relationship. I guess it would be nice if they knew about you; about us.”

  “If you want me to meet them, I will. I can deal with the attitude.”

  “Yeah?”

  “For you? Anything.” She winked at Macon.

  ◆◆◆

  “I just want to say one thing before you start practicing.” Joanna stood and walked to Greene, who had only just turned to face her after the student exited.

  “Okay?”

  Joanna wrapped her arms around Greene’s neck and pulled Greene into her.

  “You are so hot when you teach,” she suggested. “I’ve been sitting there, watching you watch them. Your hand moves at your side sometimes, as if you’re the one playing. Then you stand, and you use words I don’t know. They play again. It always sounds better, and they worship you, Macon. Those students worship you.”

  “So, I’m hot when I teach? That’s what I took away from that.” Greene smiled and wrapped her arms around Joanna’s waist.

  “Yes, you are very hot when you teach.” Joanna pressed her lips to Greene’s neck just below her earlobe. “You’re even hotter when you play, though.” She kissed the same spot again.

  “We can go; I don’t have to rehearse. We can head back to the room, and–”

  “Nope.” Joanna pulled back. “You’re rehearsing.”

  “Jo…”

  “I’m going to leave you to it. I’ll just walk around for a bit and take some pictures. I’ll meet you back here in an hour.”

  “You just said I was hot when I played. You’re not going to watch?”

  “I want you to be focused. Maybe I can get a private show later, though?” she asked.

  “Absolutely.” Greene laughed and pulled Joanna back into her.

  “You know I’m crazy about you, right?”

  “I guess I do now.” Greene kissed her cheek.

  “And that has nothing to do with your talent with a violin, Macon.”

  “Okay?”

  “I just want you to know that. I’m with you because of who you are. And, of course, a part of who you are is a musician and has been your whole life, but I love your sense of humor, and how smart you are. I love how caring you are, and how you sometimes care so much about someone else that it’s to your detriment. I love watching you play whether it’s in the back of an orchestra, at the front of the stage on your own, or in your apartment where it’s just for me. Tomorrow, if you decided you never want to play again and you want to take up – I don’t know – marine biology or something, I’d still be here.” She kissed Greene’s lips gently. “I’m not getting into any water where there are sharks, though.”

  Greene wasn’t sure what she was happiest about after Joanna finished that speech. She stared into those baby blues and ran her hands through Joanna’s light hair that was down. Joanna had used the word love. She hadn’t said those three special words or anything, but she loved parts of Greene, and that was a start.

  “Jo?”

  “Yes?”

  “Tonight, when we get back to the hotel, can we turn our phones off and spend your last night here together?”

  “We already planned–”

  “I mean together.”

  “Oh,” Joanna replied, and her hands were now on the back of Greene’s neck, running soft fingers over the tiny hairs there.

  “I want to make love to you.” Greene pulled the woman in and whispered in her ear. “I want to touch you all night.”

  “So, no more waiting?” Joanna asked into Greene’s ear.

  “No more waiting.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Greene was nervous as she heard the beep of the hotel door accepting her card key. The mechanism clicked, indicating that it was unlocked. They’d enjoyed a day of exploration in between her work activities. They’d finished their evening out with dinner at a small Italian restaurant on the water. It was after nine when they finally returned to the room.

  “How about a shower, and I can order us a movie and make us some drinks or something?” Greene suggested when they entered.

  “You don’t want to join me?” Joanna asked suggestively as she tugged on Greene’s hands toward the bedroom. “Or we can take a nice, long bath together. You can lie behind me and be naked. I can also be naked.”

  “That’s an option? You, me… naked in a bathtub?” she asked.

  Her phone rang in her pocket, and she scolded herself for not turning it off the moment she’d left the rehearsal room. She pulled it out and squinted at it when she saw her mother was calling.

  “Who is it?”

  “My mom. She’s supposed to be on a plane.” She glanced at Joanna. “Maybe it’s a good thing, and they got caught up and aren’t coming in after all.” She accepted the call and offered Joanna two crossed fingers to provide them luck. “Mom?”

  “Macon, we’re here.”

  “Here where?” she asked.

  “Boston. Your father and I are here. We caught an earlier flight.”

  “What happened to the luncheon you couldn’t miss?” Greene asked, feeling her heart speed up, and not at all for the right reason.

  “It was rained out. Someone didn’t plan on the weather, and it was outside with no tents. Who does that?”

  “I don’t know, Mom. So, did you guys just land, or–”

  “No, we’re in the lobby of your hotel. We changed ours to this one.”

  “What? Why? You’re at the Camden.”

  “We were at the Camden. But this is a sister property, and your father has discovered that we still get points here because of it. I guess Camden bought out this brand. I don’t know, Macon. We’re downstairs. We just need your room number. We’re in room ten-fifteen.”

  “It’s late, Mom. Why don’t we just have breakfast tomorrow? I just got in, and I’m exhausted.” She gave Joanna what she hoped was an apologetic expression.

  Joanna leaned in, kissed her cheek, and pointed to the bathroom. Greene wasn’t sure if she had to go or if she wanted to give Greene some privacy.

  “We’re just going to say goodnight. Your father could use a drink. Bourbon helps him sleep. The minibars have that here, right?”

  “I don’t know. Have him order from the bar or something, Mom.”

  “I’ll have him get one. But do you want one, too, or do you want something else? A beer, maybe?” she said that last part with a little bit of disgust in her voice. “I’m getting a martini. Why don’t you just meet us down here? We’ll sit and drink. Then, we’ll leave you alone.”

  Greene had three choices: she could allow her parents entry into her room; she could go down to the bar herself and save Jo from the meeting tonight, but then would have to explain to her parents why she’d done that tomorrow; or she could go down to the bar with her girlfriend, have a quick drink with her parents, and come back upstairs.