BeautyandtheButch (5 page)

Ella didn’t appear to be intimidated by her competition. She
turned
it
on at once. Her posture straightened. Her smile bloomed.
Replacing the girl in the tank top and jeans who’d danced so unabashedly the
night before in a lesbian bar was the poised and polished beauty queen.

Lindsey untangled the wires for the clip-on mics as Ella
walked forward and greeted the judges.

Marquita burst in with an affable smile. She strode
purposefully to the judges’ table and pumped their hands in greeting. Lindsey
had instantly liked Marquita’s sincerity and could see why she was a contender
for the title.

“Shall we get started?” one of the female judges asked as
she poured her glass full of water. “Is the camera crew ready?”

Brandishing a mic, Lindsey stepped forward. “Who’s first?”

“Chelsea?” the judge asked. “Would you like to start?”

“Yes ma’am.” Chelsea stood and turned to Lindsey.

Lindsey avoided meeting the contestant’s eyes as she clipped
the mic on her.

“That’s going to leave a wrinkle,” Chelsea complained,
picking at the mic clip.

“Feel free to move it,” Lindsey told her as she tugged the
hem of Chelsea’s jacket back down over the transmitter.

Lindsey stepped behind the camera and looked through the
eyepiece. “Say a few words and let me get a read on the sound.”

“Testing, testing,” Chelsea said and flashed a smile at the
judges. “My childhood dream was to be the next Barbara Walters.”

Lindsey resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She flicked her
gaze at Maurice. “How’s the sound?”

He gave a nod and then carried the boom over to the judges’
table.

Marquita and Ella took seats as Chelsea began her interview.

The questions and answers were all predictable. Boring.
Chelsea’s answers revealed very little about her personality.

Marquita was interviewed next. She cut up with the judges,
laughed, joked and had them all smiling by the time the question-and-answer session
ended.

Lindsey’s hands trembled as she clipped the mic on Ella to
prepare her for shooting. All Lindsey could think about was getting the
gorgeous blonde naked again. Heat radiated through her silk blouse. That
intoxicating perfume made Lindsey want to nuzzle the curve of Ella’s slender
neck.

Their gazes connected and held as Lindsey clipped the mic in
front, purposefully letting the backs of her knuckles brush against the curve
of Ella’s breast.

Ella’s cheeks pinked. When she wet her glossy lips with the
tip of her tongue, Lindsey’s clit pulsed. Those oh so feminine lips had been on
her pussy last night. And would be again tonight. Her stomach tightened in
anticipation.

“There. All set,” Lindsey said as she adjusted Ella’s lapels
to perfection.

The corners of Ella’s lips twitched as she tried not to
grin.

Lindsey was so focused on their recent encounter she didn’t
hear the first few questions. But when Ella cleared her throat, Lindsey saw the
discomfort in her lover’s eyes.

“Would you mind repeating the question?” Ella asked.

One of the male judges leaned forward. “In 1996, Congress
passed the Defense of Marriage Act which states that the word ‘marriage’
constitutes a union between a man and woman. Yet, the current administration
has refused to defend the law. Should the president be required to uphold the
law that’s in place or should the office be allowed to disregard laws with
which the president’s administration disagrees?”

Ella uncrossed and recrossed her legs. She twisted her ring.

Lindsey held her breath.
Answer the question, baby. Tell
’em what they want to hear.

“Sections of the act have been found unconstitutional by no
less than eight federal courts. But as long as it’s the law, as such, it should
be upheld by the executive branch,” Ella said.

Disappointment snaked through Lindsey, though she couldn’t
put her finger on why, especially when she’d just been rooting for Ella to tell
them whatever it took to win. Lindsey reminded herself that this was all show.
Ella believed differently. Lindsey knew it for a fact. And yet, Ella’s answer,
which blatantly skirted an issue important to them both, left Lindsey with a
bad taste in her mouth.

Not that it mattered because Lindsey had no intention of
forming any sort of long-term relationship—in spite of how fantastic the pussy
happened to be. But she just couldn’t even imagine a relationship with a woman
who couldn’t be open—who couldn’t be honest.

Her heart tightened as if icy fingers had raked across it.

As soon as the interview ended, Lindsey switched off the
camera.

* * * * *

“Yes! Oh, Lindsey!” Ella’s head lifted off the bed as her
muscles tensed with the intensity of her orgasm. Holding her breath, she
gritted her teeth, trying to keep from crying out again. Her feet rose off the
bed and she mewled as spasm after body-shattering spasm racked her from the
inside out.

After the last tendril of ecstasy threaded through her, Ella
fell boneless on the sheets. Lindsey kissed her thighs, her belly. Lips swept
over her like wet silk, inundating her with sensation that threatened to make
her feel too much. A warm mouth closed over one nipple and then the other,
bestowing sweet, plucking kisses that lacked the urgency of their earlier
foreplay.

That same mouth found her lips and plied them until what had
been raw, unadulterated lust transformed into this tender exploration—this
shared experience.

Ella’s heart ached that she would have to leave this behind
when the pageant was over. She buried her fingers in Lindsey’s short hair and
held her close. Desire flared again and Ella wrapped her legs around her
lover’s to rock her hips up. Simultaneously they reached between their bodies,
each searching the other’s sex-slick folds. Their eyes locked and held as they
fingered each other with slow intent.

Once more, lust blossomed and Ella fought the urge to close
her eyes. She wanted to watch as much as she wanted to feel.

Lindsey expertly held herself aloft enough to give and
receive. Their nipples brushed. Their bellies swept together and then apart as
they both rolled their hips in a slow, deliberate rhythm.

The finger prodding Ella’s pussy stilled. Lindsey’s teeth
sank into her bottom lip. Her eyes closed and her body tensed. When her muscles
began to tremble, Ella continued fingering her lover. Deep. Slow. Raking her fingertip
against the fleshy pad just inside Lindsey’s cunt.

Wet inner tissue closed around Ella’s finger, gripping it in
hard, rapid succession as Lindsey came. And when the little spams subsided her
eyes opened. She gazed for a second and then her mouth descended on Ella’s,
claiming her lips as the finger claimed her pussy. A thumb swirled over her
clit as the finger continued its thorough exploration.

Bliss swelled and devastated her. Hard. All-consuming.
Pinpricks of lights flashed behind her closed eyelids. She mewled into
Lindsey’s mouth and clung, digging her nails into Lindsey’s muscled biceps.

And when they were both sated Ella rolled onto her side and
fell asleep with Lindsey spooned against her back.

Sometime later that night Ella awakened to the sweet burn of
her nipple being kneaded. Lips nuzzled her neck.

“I can’t sleep. I want you so bad,” Lindsey murmured.

Ella started to turn, but Lindsey stopped her. “No. Stay
like this.”

Lindsey’s hand feathered downward until her fingertips found
Ella’s clit and rubbed. A warm mouth gently sucked at the sensitive curve of
Ella’s neck. She breathed in, feeling the oxygen flow throughout her body,
awakening those places Lindsey touched even more.

“Touch yourself, baby,” Lindsey whispered, taking Ella’s
hand and urging it down.

A jolt fired through Ella as her hand found her clit and she
began a slow, circular massage.

Lindsey reached behind, following the cleft of Ella’s ass.
Ella arched back, granting access as Lindsey’s finger slid deep inside her
pussy.

Ella’s breath caught. She closed her thumb and forefinger
over her own nipple and tugged hard while she worked herself toward orgasm.
Lindsey added a second finger, stretching Ella’s sensitive inner tissue. The
hedonistic pleasure she derived was too much, too good. Coherent thought fled
and was replaced with wild, all-consuming sensation.

She moaned and whimpered.

Lindsey’s fingers pumped and her mouth sucked.

“Oh…” Ella managed as she hurtled toward orgasm. “Oh, fuck
yeah. Fuck…I’m coming, oh God, Lindsey, I’m coming so hard.” Her voice came out
in a high-pitched warble as ecstasy ripped through her.

How did this woman manage to shatter her time and time
again? Every nerve, every tendon and fiber of muscle sang as she rolled to face
her lover. They kissed for what seemed like hours and then Ella moved down and
tasted Lindsey, fucking her with her fingers and tongue until Lindsey came and
came again.

Lindsey brushed her damp palms on her jeans as the van
turned into Ella’s parents’ driveway. The house looked normal enough. An older
two story. Very traditional.

“Northington District 9” was emblazoned on a red, white and
blue sign in the yard.

Ella shot her a glance and Lindsey could tell her lover was
just as nervous.

Part of the reality show included home visits where Lindsey
and Maurice would document each of the contestants with their families.
Normally this type of shoot wouldn’t bother Lindsey at all. In fact she’d been
quite comfortable yesterday when she’d filmed Marquita at home.

But meeting Ella’s parents…

Even though they’d be none the wiser that she’d spent last
night with their daughter, Lindsey had the feeling meeting them would only
drive home the knowledge there was no hope of any future with the beauty queen.

Part of her welcomed that knowledge. She was used to the
status of friends with benefits. It was comfortable.

Entertaining more with someone was very
uncomfortable
.
And Lindsey had caught herself on several occasions imagining how she’d get
back to this part of the country to hook up with Ella again.

Lindsey heaved a sigh as the driver parked the van. She
seized the handle, gave it a tug and opened the door just as Ella’s parents
stepped out the front door.

Maurice rolled out of the passenger side of the van and started
around back to begin unloading the equipment.

Ella’s father and mother exchanged looks and Lindsey knew it
was because they’d expected a monster-sized film crew to arrive with their
daughter.

“Hi, I’m Lindsey,” she introduced herself and extended her
hand to Ella’s father.

“Joe Northington,” he said. His smile was fake. Practiced.
He closed his other hand over Lindsey’s.

He was handsome, in a clean-cut sort of way. The perfect mix
of salt and pepper in his hair. The affable sparkle in his blue eyes. Lindsey’s
trained eye told her the camera would love him. “Nice to make your
acquaintance,” he said before moving on to greet Maurice.

“Millie Northington,” Ella’s mom said. “I thought there’d
be—”

“More of us? We get that all the time.” She smiled widely.

Ella joined them. “Mom, Dad, this is Lindsey and that’s
Maurice.”

Maurice tilted his chin up in acknowledgement.

Joe still seemed disbelieving. “And the driver? Is he a part
of the crew? Will there be more of you?”

“No, Dad,” Ella explained. “The driver works for the hotel.”

“There’s just the two of you?” he asked.

“Yep,” Lindsey said. “We’d like to get a shot of you coming
out the front door to greet Ella.”

“But we just did that,” Millie said.

“It’s for the show, Mom.”

Maurice handed Lindsey a couple of mics. “Let me get you
guys wired for sound first and then we’ll start the shoot.”

“Oh, this is exciting,” Millie said as Lindsey handed her
the mic.

“Run this up under your sweater and clip it on the lapel.
I’ll hook it up on the back,” Lindsey said and Ella stepped in to help while
Joe cleared his throat and practiced his politician’s voice.

Heat crept into the back of Lindsey’s neck and she wondered
if Ella had said anything to her parents that would give them cause to
speculate. Not that it mattered, Lindsey reminded herself. But Ella seemed
adamant about remaining in the closet.

Disappointment snaked through Lindsey and she willed the
unwelcome emotion away.

“Next,” she said and smiled at Joe.

With a wry grin, he took it from her. “I’m an old pro at
this. I can do it.” He clipped the box on the back of his khakis and then
wrangled the wire up underneath his blue button-down.

“I’m ready,” Maurice said.

“Let me check Ella’s mic,” Lindsey said. She stepped behind
Ella, so close the scent of the beauty queen’s sultry perfume wafted around
her. A warm blush infused Lindsey’s cheeks as the backs of her knuckles brushed
Ella’s skin. Even standing here in front of her parents, Ella possessed an
allure Lindsey was powerless to resist.

Ella climbed back into the van and her parents strolled back
into the house so they could reenact the arrival.

Lindsey had filmed several such family visits on the various
reality shows she’d shot, but this one seemed terse. Ella wore the same
smiling, icy facade with her parents she donned in front of the pageant judges.

In her interview, Millie chattered on about her hopes Ella
would marry a man with a good income so she’d be free to stay home with her
children—provided the Good Lord saw fit to bless her with any. Joe took it upon
himself to further his political platform while pretending to be the supportive
father.

Lindsey could see Ella living such a life, but in the
visions, the practiced smile diminished into a look of despair. The light
drifted out of her sparkling eyes and she led a life of secret desires and
heartache. Lindsey’s own heart twisted.

After they finished the shoot, Lindsey excused herself to
get the release forms she’d forgotten in all the excitement.

“I’ll walk with you,” Ella said and followed her outside.

The tension between them was palpable. Lindsey’s body hummed
to touch Ella’s. A brush of hands. A lingering glance. Anything.

“See what I mean?” Ella asked and flashed a conspiratorial
smile.

Lindsey saw all too well. In fact the few hours she’d spent
in the company of the Northingtons dragged her kicking and screaming back to
her teenage years when she’d had to keep her relationship with Reagan under
wraps. While a part of her enjoyed the thrill of a clandestine kiss, Lindsey
didn’t want that sort of life on a full-time basis.

As soon as they skirted the van, Ella seized Lindsey,
dragged her close and claimed her lips.

Stunned, Lindsey resisted at first and then she melted and
returned the flirtatious kiss.

Ella drew away and thumbed back a strand of Lindsey’s hair.
“Oh my God, I’ve been dying to kiss you all day.”

Lindsey wanted to join her lover’s excitement, but something
prevented her. A sad smile played on her lips. “Yeah, me too,” she said.

Ella didn’t seem to notice. Besides, now wasn’t the time for
an in-depth conversation about coming out. Lindsey touched her tongue to her
own lips, tasting Ella’s peach-flavored lip gloss.

“Take these back inside,” Lindsey said, handing Ella the
release forms. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Ella glanced around, gave Lindsey one more peck on the lips
and then darted off with the forms.

Lindsey sagged against the van’s back bumper and sighed.
She’d known from the beginning there’d never be anything real between them.

So why was she so confused?

* * * * *

Marquita was onstage wearing a sequined, crimson gown,
singing an aria that reverberated off the back walls of the crowd-filled hall.
By all accounts every eye should be trained on her, and yet Ella couldn’t look
away from Lindsey.

Ella’s insides should have been a jangle of nerves as she
awaited her turn. There was always the chance she could drop her baton or go
blank during her routine, but tonight none of those things vied for prominence
in her thoughts.

She’d spent every night since her arrival in Lindsey’s bed.
In Lindsey’s arms. And now that only one more night of the competition
remained, Ella couldn’t imagine her life going back to the way it was before.

She could move. She could go to a bigger city where she’d
get lost in the crowd, where she could teach without her private life being the
focus of the school board and the parents. Where no one knew or cared who Joe
Northington was.

And yet, other than their initial conversation, neither of
them had spoken about any sort of future plans, but Ella knew Lindsey would
move on to her next project and be gone from her life other than an occasional
text.

A lump welled in Ella’s throat and she drew in a deep breath
in an attempt to stave off tears.

Lindsey’s stance widened as she dropped to get a more
dramatic shot of Marquita without compromising the integrity of the stage. Ella
adored the way her lover set her tongue between her lips when she was deep in
thought. Her heart warmed.

“Ella,” Chelsea’s harsh whisper came from behind her.
“What’s wrong with you? You’re on. What on earth were you looking at?” Her gaze
drifted from Ella to Lindsey and her lips parted.

But Ella didn’t have time to ponder the ramifications of her
competitor’s suspicions. Her music began and she raced onto the stage to begin
her routine.

* * * * *

Lindsey’s thumb hovered over the Send button. She reread the
text five times.
Wanna fuck?
Indecision surged through her. She squeezed
her eyes shut but all she could see was Ella’s long blonde hair strewn across
the white pillow slip. Gritting her teeth, Lindsey growled in frustration.
Shit. Why was she hesitating? It was the last night of the pageant.

She would be packing up to leave as soon as the winner was
crowned. Maurice had already sent most of the footage they’d taken to the
editor since the show was on a tight deadline.

There wouldn’t be another night to spend in Ella’s arms.

Lindsey stared at the text. “Fuck it,” she muttered and hit
Send.

Ten seconds later, she received a reply.
On the way now.

Her stomach knotted with desire and expectation. She was
being silly, entertaining thoughts that there could possibly be anything
between them after tonight. After all, wasn’t she the one who’d laid out the
rules in the beginning?

She tossed her phone across the bed before padding into the
bathroom to swish some mouthwash around before Ella arrived.

Lindsey eyed herself in the mirror and clicked her tongue
bar against the roof of her mouth. What was she thinking? Beautiful girls like
Ella rarely came out. When they did, they didn’t hook up on a permanent basis
with tattooed, body-pierced butches.

Cold chills broke out on her flesh when Lindsey raked her
fingertips over one half-sleeve of colorful tats. Ella had traced the tribal
swirls with her fingers, with her tongue. She’d flicked the little ring
dangling from Lindsey’s bellybutton. Surely Lindsey couldn’t have mistaken that
look of admiration in her lover’s eyes.

She swallowed thickly and dabbed at her lips with the towel
just as a knock sounded on the door.

When she opened it, Ella was standing with her back against
the wall on the other side of the hall. She looked beautiful, her face freshly
washed and makeup-free, her hair brushed and flowing over her shoulders. Her
flirtatious smile beckoned Lindsey who inhaled and boldly crossed the deserted
hall. She cradled Ella’s face in her hands and kissed her. Hard. No tenderness
softened this kiss. Instead Lindsey claimed her lover’s mouth. Bruised it.

Frustration and lust poured out of her as her hands moved
downward, roughly raking Ella’s shoulders, groping her ass, her breasts.
Lindsey tweaked a nipple, eliciting a moan.

She half thought Ella would draw away, ask her not to be so
intimate where there was a possibility they could be discovered. But she did
none of those things. Instead she clutched Lindsey’s body close and moved
restlessly against her.

Lindsey captured her lover’s earlobe and she sucked it
before whispering, “I want to eat your pussy.”

At the ribald words Ella’s body seemed to mold to Lindsey’s,
countering her, fitting her—soft, feminine curves against taut, coltish
muscles.

Lindsey breathed in the soap-and-water scent of freshly
showered skin.

A low, husky chuckle played in Ella’s throat as her fingers
entwined with Lindsey’s and she pulled her back into the hotel room.

Lindsey’s channel clenched and her clit pulsed as she
hastily drew off Ella’s top and then her shorts and underwear while Ella
stepped out of her shoes. God, she was beautiful. So fucking beautiful. Anger
that Ella kept her sexuality hidden warred with Lindsey’s hot desire. Lindsey
wanted to kiss her and punish her at the same time.

She entwined her fingers in Ella’s blonde locks. “Get on the
bed and get on your knees.” Her tone brooked no refusal.

Lust darkened Ella’s blue eyes and she did as commanded,
glancing back as she positioned herself on all fours.

Lindsey tore her gaze from Ella’s sly smile and instead
gazed at her glistening slit—and the puckered little aperture in the center of
her cleft. Shucking her top and bra, Lindsey climbed onto the bed and rubbed
her palms over Ella’s ass cheeks, relishing the feel of velvety skin and
pliable flesh. So soft. So sexy.

Fingers tightening, Lindsey kneaded the sweet flesh,
pinching playfully before giving one side a sound smack.

Ella let out a surprised little cry that quickly turned into
a moan when Lindsey began soothing the offended flesh.

She delivered one more sharp pop to Ella’s bottom before
sinking until she was mouth level with that delectable little hole. Ella
shivered as Lindsey released a hot breath on her skin. When Ella jerked,
Lindsey gripped her hips. “Don’t you dare move, baby doll.”

Lindsey kissed the strip of flesh between Ella’s pussy and
anus before teasing her tongue up and down that sensitive area. The muscles in
Ella’s thighs tensed under Lindsey’s fingers.

The urge to dominate welled hard in Lindsey and she resolved
to take this as far as her lover would allow. She swept her tongue around and
around the tight little hole then flicked its center.

Ella moaned and shook. But she never protested.

Spreading the soft cheeks wide, Lindsey burrowed into the
freshly washed entrance, readying her lover for an invasion of a different
kind. She slid two fingers deep into Ella’s pussy, coating them with the
abundance of slippery cream then she pushed one inside Ella’s asshole.