Chapter 14

14

W hen the shows, interviews, and yes, even the photoshoots started showing up in Mia's schedule diary again, it was a relief. She knew that the label had a good team working on the libel case (Carson had been controlling the accounts, they had found out for certain, and they were building a case against him) and Mia knew she was in safe hands. Still, in a selfish way, she wished Harper was with her to celebrate.

Getting back into contact with Harper had been nice, despite the bittersweet nature of it all. She hadn't seen Harper since she had gotten back from New York, but Mia knew she was in town, and they were exchanging updates constantly. Still, it felt like a cruel joke when she walked into the Lounge after a long day at work only to be hit with a smell that reminded her of what had become Harper's favorite perfume. Looking around, she made eye contact with Esme, who waved and gestured upward. Looking above the bar, Mia saw a shelf suspended from the ceiling holding a breathtaking display of fresh flowers. The main features? Roses and irises.

"What do you think? Aren't they gorgeous?" Esme called, a smile lighting up her face.

I can't ruin this for her, this must have cost so much… and it is very pretty.

"It's beautiful, Esme, it really is. What's the occasion?"

"Spring has sprung, Mia! I'm changing the menus too. Would you like to give me a hand coming up with some new specials tonight? I just got some edible lavender in, and I would love to see what we can cook up with that."

Mia smiled fondly. Esme was the real secret to this place's success, she thought, and her passion was contagious. She spotted a few handfuls of loose flowers on the bartop that weren't a part of the display above the bar.

"I would love to, Esme, thank you for the offer! If it isn't any trouble, could I take a handful of flowers upstairs with me? They smell so wonderful."

"Of course, honey! Take as many as you'd like. We'll be scattering the rest around the lounge so that gorgeous smell spreads everywhere, and there are more due every week as the months roll on."

Thanking Esme, Mia grabbed a small fistful of irises and rose petals, scattering them on the coffee table in her room upstairs. She sat down that evening to write, and the scent of the fresh buds had filled the room completely. Notebook balanced on her lap, pen in hand, Mia brainstormed an idea for a new song. At least, she tried to. It wasn't enough that she missed Harper terribly, no, now she had to go and distract her from her writing when she wasn't even in the room!

After a few futile minutes of trying to come up with a catchy hook, Mia sighed, setting the notebook down on the table. She had to clear her head. She took deep breaths, and while it calmed her down, it also forced her to inhale the fresh smell of the flowers. She decided that distraction wasn't worth it; If she was going to think about Harper, fine, but it would be on her own terms. Not for the first time, she thought back to the night they had first met, when she had only ever heard of the Huntress. That big reputation seemed like a far cry from the Harper she had gotten to know in the following weeks. Sweet, generous, whip-smart Harper who had taken her to an underground lesbian bar in order to convince her to sign a contract. Harper had told her later that she was trying to seduce her, and Mia had joked that it worked. After that day in the studio, the air had been thick with tension.

Mia thought back to it, back to when she had seen Harper in complete control in the monitoring area of the recording booth. She fondly remembered when she had surrendered that control in the dark of the club, demanding that Mia fuck her there and then.

Harper's perfume had lingered on her collarbones as Mia buried her fingers inside her, sharp gasps and moans timed to the music, payback for her earlier teasing. Now, Mia was getting invested in the memory. Double-checking she was alone upstairs, she began feeling her chest, remembering the soft insistence of Harper's hands squeezing her. Harper's voice in her ear, warm and dominant and experienced, knowing exactly what she wanted and how she was going to get it. Mia became more and more sensitive as she played back the memories, turned on in a way she hadn't been since the night they had first met. The embarrassment of waking up hungover with her vibrator between her legs had been replaced with open lust once she knew Harper had felt that same attraction.

She recalled an intense quickie in a walk-in closet backstage, grinding her pussy against Harper's open mouth while she licked at her clit, one hand down her suit trousers. Now, she reached down, hitched up her plaid skirt and pulled her panties to the side.

She remembered the softness of Harper's skin in bed, how it felt between her teeth as she left love-bites only the two of them would ever see. She thought of the way Harper had tasted the first time Mia had tasted her, perfume mingling with the smell of her as Harper groaned above her. Mia reached over and grabbed a handful of petals with her non-occupied hand and held them to her face, inhaling the sweet smell as she rubbed her clit. It was missing something, the earthiness that the perfume usually carried, but memory filled in the blanks.

Mia's thighs began to shake as she imagined Harper there with her, whispering into her ear. She rolled the flower petals over her neck and chest, marking herself with Harper's scent. She knew it now more than ever. She was Harper's and Harper's alone. She could almost feel Harper there with her as heat pooled in her stomach, each movement drawing quiet noises out of her.

Fuck, Harper...

What would Mia want, if Harper was here now? She would want Harper straddling her lap again, chest bare so Mia could tease her to her heart's content. She could almost see Harper there when she closed her eyes, hair out of her face, cheeks flushed as she made sweeter music than Mia ever could on a stage. Another wave of the flowers' scent washed over Mia as she pictured Harper, so close she could reach out and touch her. She needed her, in more than one way, in every way she could imagine. She pulled her shirt up to roll the petals on her bare chest, edging closer to her orgasm as her fantasy grew more intense. She wanted Harper in control, choosing to punish or reward her for good behavior, powerful and mean , but she also wanted the Harper that bucked in Mia's lap while getting fucked, that said her name oh-so-sweetly as she came, and kissed her like she was water and Harper was dying of thirst.

She imagined Harper there as she tipped over the edge, groaning her name right into her ear, the heat of her breath on Mia's neck so real she could reach out and touch her. This was her breaking point, and Mia cried out as she came, playing with herself as she rode the waves of her orgasm, hips reaching for stimulation that wasn't there. Once she was too sensitive for anything more, she lay on the sofa, half-dressed and panting, nipples hard against the cold air and the smell of the flowers thick and heady. She could only hope her face wouldn't be too red when she headed back downstairs in a little while.

Pulling her shirt back down, Mia got up to grab a clean pair of underwear to replace the ones she had soaked through. Walking back to the table once she had changed, she realized her mind was much clearer, and as she sat down to write a line came to her out of nowhere.

Your fragrance stains me.

It was only one line, but Mia knew from experience that one line was all it took to begin building a song. She flicked back through the notebook to a tune she had written a few weeks ago, and she began piecing a new song together.