Blueprints Ch. 02

"Want me to pick you up?" Steve offered as they pulled up outside Morgan's.

"Oh, you don't need to do that. I'll get a taxi." She said distractedly as she checked her appearance in the rearview mirror.

"Stop faffing with your hair!" Steve sighed, pulling her hand from the glossy texture. "Fine, no pick up. But I want all the gossip." At that she kissed him good night and got out of the car.

Moments later, she was being welcomed by her host. They exchanged the usual embraces and pleasantries before Zara was ushered into the body of the house.

"This looks like a good one!" Morgan said approvingly, having torn the tissue paper from the bottle of wine. "Anyway, go on into the living room and I'll get you a drink, we are on Prosecco if that's alright?" Of course it was. "Jo?" Morgan smiled, popping into the room briefly, "Go and do the introductions. I know, Zara's probably met everyone, but just in case." And with casual detachment Joanna did so.

The evening preceded much like any other dinner party and it wasn't until later in the evening that Zara had any real interaction with Joanna. "So I hear you two have really hit it off?" Their host smiled brandishing a fork full of salad leaves at the architect.

"Excuse me?" Zara choked and reached for her wine.

"Jo's house; the plans look great. Lindsay's already got you pegged to do something on this place."

"Of course, yes, yes, it'll look great." She nodded and glanced at Joanna; the way those green eyes returned her gaze was enough to jolt her stomach. She'd done well so far; talked in her usual easy, gregarious way. Not this stammering little girl that the Professor seemed to reduce her to. But now, looking at Joanna, who could blame her? The woman looked impossibly good; a simple black dress cut so as to closely fit her figure whilst exposing slender arms and toned legs. Not to mention her striking face, framed in blonde hair which was cut stylishly short.

"It will. Zara's doing a good job." Joanna said, snapping Zara back to the present. The older woman broke their eye contact to glance around the table. "She's even managed to keep my impatience in check."

"What a keeper." Morgan smirked, glancing at Joanna who dismissed the comment with the offer to clear the plates. "Sure, I'll give you a hand."

"No need, you've been slaving over that wonderful risotto. Zara can help me."

Before loading the dishwasher, Zara slipped out of her blazer and draped it on the back of a chair. They scraped plates and piled them into the machine in a silence that pressed upon the younger woman until she cracked. "You've known Morgan a while, right?" She asked, trying to converse casually, without looking up from her task.

"Yes, we go way back." Joanna replied without further elaboration.

Despite herself, Zara shook her head and sighed, a look of amusement on her face as she continued to put the dishes away.

"What?" For the first time in Zara's experience, Joanna sounded unsure.

"You don't give much away, do you?" Their eyes met as Zara straightened up and leant against the counter top. She watched the woman move towards her, the sudden confidence she'd displayed faltering.

Joanna stood before her, not as close as the night at her doorway, but close enough. She looked down at the younger woman expectedly. "Well?" She asked, running a dish towel through her nimble fingers. "Try me, Zara."

Zara laughed in disbelief, this was ridiculous. "I don't know." She shook her head, that dark mane rippling as she did so. "How do you know Morgan? I know her through a-"

"Volunteer program. Yes, she told me." Joanna replied plainly. "If you must know, Morgan and I dated." Zara began a babbled apology only for it to be dismissed with an impatient wave. "Don't be silly, it was a very long time ago. Great as friends; not so good in other aspects. We wanted different things. Actually," She said thoughtfully, almost to herself as she walked to the fridge. "We wanted the exact same thing. Funny how that can be a problem, isn't it?" Zara did not know, but feigned agreement nonetheless.

Returning from the fridge, she sat a cheesecake on the counter. "Pass me a knife, please; that drawer on the left." Zara handed her the blade, handle first. "I'm sorry I disturbed you last week, you'd be trying to get away from it and all."

"No, no, it's fine. I didn't mind." Zara hastened. "I'm sorry if I came off, eh, badly, you know about the planning. I just know-"

"You know the process and you stood your ground. I respect that." Joanna replied cutting the desert down the middle. "Plus, I believe you said you'd do anything to make things easier for me; pretty hard to beat that level of service." A wicked look danced across her face. "Now, go and take those through and come back for another three slices."

Zara fumbled with the plates, her fingers shaking slightly. That smile she'd flashed, the way Joanna said anything. Had she said it like that? Surely not.

Back in the dining room she sat the plates down at random before picking up her wine glass. Morgan knowingly noticed her guest's consternation, "You sit down, honey, I really should be a better host." Zara didn't argue and took her seat along with a nerve-steading drink.

When the two friends reentered, she couldn't fail to notice that instead of taking her original seat, Morgan sat in Joanna's. Leaving the Professor to take the chair next to Zara, subtly brushing against the young woman as she did so.

The group fell into easy conversation once more, swapping anecdotes of recent travels. "Hang on!" A male guest blurted, he pointed at Zara, a tumbler of amber liquid in his grasp, "We've talked about half a dozen countries and most of them you seem to have been to." She confirmed, looking perplexed. "Well, when I your age, I was lucky if I'd been on a skiing trip with the school. The youth of today!" He slurred in mock disgust before his wife reined him in.

"I think you've misjudged my age by about-" She faltered and had to work hard to maintain her composure as she felt a hand rest upon her denim clad thigh, dexterous fingers giving her a firm squeeze which caused a shudder to ripple through her lean body. Thankfully, her unfinished sentence appeared to have gone unnoticed and the conversation continued. To what, Zara couldn't say; all she was aware of was Joanna's burning grip.

Having built up the courage, Zara stole a glance to her left. Joanna appeared to be in deep conversation but obviously felt the younger woman's eyes on her. She shifted her hand towards the softer flesh of Zara's inner thigh which caused the hairs on the younger woman's neck to stand on end.

Sometime later Joanna glanced at Zara and subtly raised an eyebrow. The architect took this as a, 'Are you going to stop me?'

Without wanting to blurt out, 'Of course not; why has it taken you this long?' Zara's hand momentarily snaked from the table, soft fingers running down Joanna's bare forearm. Albeit brief, the skin on skin contact increased the heat which had begun to smolder within her.

Joanna appeared to sense this, either that or Zara's reassurance encouraged the older woman; minutes later deft fingers had inched their way up her thigh, to the point that she'd be surprised if Joanna couldn't feel the warmth that must be emanating from her. She was about to reach down and guide the hand back, for if she was touched there, Zara knew she'd struggle to contain herself. However, there was no need; the scraping of chairs and an announcement that people were departing encouraged the hand to retreat, but not before giving the girl one last firm squeeze.

The young woman went through the motions of bidding goodbye to her fellow guests as they moved out into the hallway to don their coats and thank Morgan for her hospitality. Zara wasn't thinking clearly, stuck in some kind of daze as she sat back down on a random dining chair. She dug out her phone to order a taxi, watching as the app eventually loaded her route home. Zara was about to hit the request button when she felt fingers entwine their way into her dark mane, before gripping it gently to tilt her face upwards.

Joanna's lips were on her instantly; firmly pressing into the girl as she stood over her. Unlike their last brief encounter, Joanna didn't pull away with seconds, instead the kiss became stronger and her tongue was in Zara's mouth, lips catching those of the younger woman's.

She couldn't help it, Zara moaned; the feeling of Joanna bearing down on her was what she'd wanted for months. She kissed her back, tentatively at first, but to really respond to the searing embrace tentative wasn't enough. She massaged her tongue up against Joanna's before taking the woman's bottom lip between her own. She groaned as Joanna pulled more firmly on her hair, Zara's own hand gripping gently to the nape of Joanna's neck. The ferocity of their embrace increased and the older woman grazed Zara's bottom lip with her teeth.

The front door shut and instinctively Zara broke the contact. However, had their host reentered the dining room, there would be no hiding, not on Zara's part anyway, what had ensued. The embrace had left her flushed and slightly out of breath. Joanna seemed to find her arousal amusing and was looking down on her, green eyes almost measuring up her next move.

"Do you two want a coffee?" Morgan called through, evidently making her way to the kitchen.

"Would you like a coffee, Zara?" Joanna asked, a hand snaking back into her silky hair. The younger woman hesitated before slowly shaking her head, a trace of a smile flickering across her face. "What do you want?"

"Eh, I, I don't know." She lied, tearing her dark eyes from Joanna's.

"I think you do." She cupped Zara's chin and forced her to meet her commanding gaze. After a moment's silence, Joanna sighed impatiently. Perhaps she was expecting too much. "Would you like to come home wi-"

"Yes." Zara nodded, unable to stifle her enthusiasm. The whole set-up: sitting on the hard backed chair, being encouraged to look up at the blonde woman as she towered over her, was incredibly arousing. Eventually Zara found her voice. "I'll order a taxi?"

"Good girl." And with that, Joanna released Zara, turned on her heel, and left the room.

Less than ten minutes later, the two women were sitting in the back of the taxi, Joanna's hand having returned to the top of Zara's thigh as they negotiated the affluent area of Edinburgh to reach Joanna's house. Blood coursed through Zara's lean body, hyper aware of what, she hoped, was going to happen.

Once out of the car, Zara followed the blonde woman up the garden path as their heels clicked towards the front door. If the Professor made her nervous before, the way Joanna told Zara to enter her home and then proceeded to shut the door was something else.

Having moved with her host to the now familiar kitchen, Joanna turned to look at her. The older woman drank her in for several moments, a curious expression across her striking face as Zara stood fidgeting, coat still on, by the breakfast bar. Finally, Joanna broke the silence as she raised a questioning eyebrow, "What's wrong Zara?"

Despite herself, the brunette smiled nervously and shook her head. "I don't know. You just always make me feel like I'm, I don't know, failing some sort of test."

"You're not failing." The taller woman smirked. "Relax. Have a seat." She turned to a cupboard and retrieved glass tumblers. Zara exhaled before pulling one of the bar stools out. "No, not there. Here." She patted the polished granite work top next to the glasses and continued fixing their drinks.

Although bemused, Zara didn't question her host and moved to the instructed spot. "Can I take my jacket off?"

"Please do." Joanna replied, eyes shifting to unapologetically watch the younger woman's body work its way out of her layers before hopping up on the cold surface, newly bare arms flexing as she did so. "Here." She was handed a generous measure of single malt which was instantly accepted. Zara was desperate for anything that would steady her nerves which were exacerbated by the way Joanna's eyes consumed her.

Had this been anyone else, Zara could have navigated her way through it with easy conversation and a bit of flirting. However, this tall blonde woman did something to her, something that wasn't getting any easier as they spent more time together. Her usually quick brain was drawing a blank for what was appropriate to say or do. To that end, Zara's dark eyes shifted to and from Joanna, who was standing tantalisingly close whilst remaining just out of reach.

"I said relax." Joanna sighed, her eyes moving up Zara's body as she sauntered towards her.

"You're not making it very easy." She replied, tentatively watching the lean figure, that dress looked like she'd been poured into it.

"How so?" A neatly manicured hand rested on her thigh once more. Zara stammered something about being sat up here like a podium, but couldn't quite find the correct turn of phrase and instead looked down at her glass. "You're very beautiful, it's only fair I get to look at you." Joanna purred, bringing two fingers under Zara's chin and forcing their eyes to meet. "I mean it, Zara."

Fingers trailed from Zara's chin to her neck and into her hair as she was pulled to meet Joanna's lips once more. From this angle, the young woman had the height advantage and she took it. There was no subtle brushing of lips, nothing tentative; it was Zara's turn to tell the blonde how much she wanted her. Their lips crashed together in a tender, wet, passionate kiss which caused, to the brunette's surprise, Joanna to moan into her mouth. The older woman's reaction caused Zara to smile as they continued to explore each other; tongues battling, lips caught within one another's.

Joanna's grip shifted down her tight physique, hands finally resting on the young woman's waist before Zara felt herself being pulled forward. Instinctively, toned legs moved, allowing Joanna to step between them. Even through clothes Zara felt an electrifying shock which rendered her momentarily breathless as her crotch and torso were pulled into Joanna.

She clamped her strong thighs to the woman's sides and delicate fingers gripped the back of Joanna's slender neck somehow increasing the ferocity of their embrace. Zara didn't want it to end; the heat rising between the two women and the way their bodies slotted together was addictive.

Eventually, Joanna's hands roamed back up Zara's waist and ribs; she shivered as the fingers momentarily traced the outline of her bra before moving into the volumes of mahogany. It was Zara's turn to moan, or perhaps emit more a pine of frustration as Joanna, content that she'd explored enough of the young women's mouth, pulled on Zara's hair. Her head was encouraged back and their kiss broken as the sensitive skin of the young woman's throat was exposed.

A shudder ran through her body and Zara's sex involuntarily contracted as Joanna's lips burned kisses onto the sensitive flesh. Her talented mouth trailing over her neck, down over her collarbone and back up to ear, taking the sensitive lobe between her teeth. At this, Zara couldn't help but gasp and jump; it was like an electric current was running through her body with every move Joanna pulled. She wasn't usually ticklish, but her body felt like a bundle of nerves, the Professor already had her so hot. Joanna's response was to move her hand to the back of Zara's slender neck, holding her in place as she increased her ferocity with the addition of tongue and teeth, whilst the young woman squirmed and moaned beneath her.

Experienced hands trailed to Zara's delicate ribcage and on to the slight swell of her breast; the subtle touch enough for Zara's hips to move inadvertently, pushing herself into Joanna's flat stomach. Her hand increased the pressure on Zara's chest, squeezing soft flesh before her thumb grazed a pebbled nipple. "Oh God." Zara murmured; that mouth on her neck and hand on her chest. She could feel the wetness between her legs spread as she bucked against Joanna once more, stronger this time, grinding herself against the blonde.

As she was so worked up, Zara was almost grateful when Joanna, with one last and almost painful bite, tore her mouth from her throat. Catching her breath, Joanna brought her second hand to the young woman's modest chest, stimulating both peaks simultaneously. Their eyes locked and once again Joanna looked like a predator sizing up their prey as she gently pinched the young woman's pebbled flesh.

Zara shuddered, her eyes glancing away from Joanna's. "Look at me." She did so, but quickly shifted her gaze down the woman's body. "I said look at me." Joanna said, calmly enough, but pinched Zara hard enough for her to wince in a jolt of pleasurable pain.

She did so, despite being tempted to look away. Zara had been, more than she'd care to admit, fantasising about being dominated by the older woman since they'd met and with every encounter they shared it seemed like these scenarios may come, partially, true. The thought caused a smirk to flash across her pretty face as she looked into the lustful eyes of her companion before kissing her once more, fierce as ever.

"You're not looking at me, Zara." Joanna murmured between kisses before tweaking the girl's nipples so hard she yelped into Joanna's mouth. The older woman's touch was suddenly gentle, caressing the sensitive skin and causing Zara to moan into her mouth.

Their game continued, with Zara continuing to disobey Joanna's wishes and with every tweak, grab and tug the young woman's breathing became increasingly laboured. "You know you're a minx don't you?" Joanna panted, seemingly savouring the experience. She took her time before Zara felt soft hands slip beneath her top and up to the lace of her bra to continue her manipulations. "Take this off." The blonde commanded between kisses, gesturing to the white material.

Instantly obliging, Zara exposed her trim torso, an expensive black bra contrasting with her lightly tanned skin. Joanna took a step back and looked at her once more, green eyes almost burning into the young woman's chest and stomach. "No." She began, Zara's heart falling in momentary disappointment. "You won't do in the kitchen." She decided, shaking her head. "Come on." And with that she turned and made her way towards the hallway.

Momentarily hesitant, she watched Joanna's back; perfect posture, toned calves in those heels. The only thing out of place was her short blonde hair which was ruffled from when Zara's hands had run through it. "Come on, Zara." She said firmly, but held out her hand for the young woman to take. The assurance was all she needed to hop off the counter and move towards the formidable figure, slender fingers intertwining as Zara was led upstairs.

Normally, the young architect would take in the features of a Georgian home such as this, however all that Zara could focus on was Joanna's near perfect bottom as they made their way to what Zara presumed was Joanna's bedroom. The butterflies collided around in her stomach all the more ferociously as the Professor kept up her cool calm façade. How on earth did she do it? Zara's legs - normally strong - were weak, her palms clammy, and the crotch of her jeans most definitely damp.

Once a across the threshold of Joanna's private space, if her life depended on it Zara could not have recounted one detail of the room, Joanna was on her once more. Tight bodies pressed together as she pushed Zara up against the wall with a thud to ensue another searing kiss. Hands roamed, gripping at arms, waists, hair. Zara shifted slightly so that their thighs pressed between one another's legs and for the first time she felt Joanna pleasure herself; grinding into the young woman. Thank God, Zara thought, she was human.