Best Lesbian Romance 2014 Read Online Free Page A

they’re not always safe for a woman to go alone. Well, to be honest, they’re not too safe for anyone, sometimes. And I’ve got all my photographic equipment to carry, and I was wondering…”
    Heart in mouth, Annie waited for Lizzie to continue. Normally, she might guess where Lizzie’s words were heading, but in taking the next step, were her own dreams feeding her false hope? When no more came, Annie gathered her courage, to finish the sentence, trying to pitch her voice so she could pass it off as a joke, if need be. “Are you saying you want someone to help carry your bags?”
    Lizzie smiled in response, but the set of her lips was less confident than normal. “I wouldn’t put it quite like that. I want a companion, an assistant. Someone who can help me. Someone a bit more practical than me, and a bit more worldly wise.” She paused, staring down at her own hands, but then looked up. “Would you be willing to come with me, Annie?”
    Annie felt her heart pound again, more fiercely than at any time that evening. It roared in her ears, but not loud enough to drown out, softly through the intervening years, her Gran’s voice and the advice she gave. It’s the things you don’t do you end up regretting the most.
    Dare she say yes? If she did, how would she bear the months ahead, with Lizzie so close yet out of reach? But how could she live with herself if she didn’t? Annie’s mouth was painfully dry. Yet she drained her drink more in hope of summoning Dutchcourage than for the sake of easing it. She put down the glass and faced Lizzie.
    â€œI’ll come with you on one condition.”
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    Annie slid along the bench so their legs were in contact from knee to thigh. She was close enough to see the moonlight reflecting in Lizzie’s eyes, hear her breathe, smell the perfume on her skin and the alcohol on her breath. Close enough to see the pulse beating in Lizzie’s throat.
    â€œThat you ask me again in one minute’s time.”
    â€œWhat do you think is going to happen in the next minute to change my mind?”
    â€œThis.”
    It was too late to debate the wisdom. Closing her eyes, Annie leaned forward. Her lips brushed softly against Lizzie’s before returning again, hard.
    At the first touch, Lizzie flinched, but did not pull away. Her face and lips were frozen, possibly in outrage—Annie dared not open her eyes to see. Then Lizzie’s hand rose to Annie’s face. At first it seemed as if she was preparing to push Annie away, or slap her, but instead, at the last moment, it slipped behind Annie neck, pulling them yet closer. Their lips molded together.
    It was the kiss Annie had fantasized about for years. The kiss that had haunted her dreams and tormented her days. This was what she wanted from Lizzie—wanted with all her heart and soul. She wrapped her arms around Lizzie, hugging her close. The solidity of Lizzie’s body against hers filled a gaping hole in her heart. If nothing else in her life ever went right, this was the moment she would draw on for the rest of her days, the moment that made living her life worthwhile.
    At last they broke apart, both breathing deeply. Lizzie raised her hand to her mouth, as if to reassure herself that her lips werestill her own. Her expression flitted between confusion, uncertainty and surprise. She stared at her fingers with the bewilderment of someone expecting to see something new and strange imprinted there, and then her eyes lifted to meet Annie’s. Slowly the confusion faded, replaced by the softest of smiles.
    â€œAnnie O’Donnell, will you run away with me?”

PALABRAS
    Anna Meadows
    The only secret I ever kept from Sawyer fit inside an orange crate.
    She almost found it once, the day we moved in together. I had buried it in the backseat of my car, beneath my great-aunt’s quilts and the box that held my mixing bowls.