Inside, she turned, intending to offer Stephanie water or something else that might slow the current still crackling between them, but she was already moving. Her hands came up to Casey’s shoulders and pushed with quiet certainty, backing her across the kitchen until her spine met the wall beside the row of cookbooks. The impact stole Casey’s breath. Stephanie’s body aligned with hers, warm through the thin cotton of her pajamas, and then her mouth was on Casey’s again, harder this time, less tentative.
Stephanie’s fingers slid from Casey’s shoulders to the sides of her neck, thumbs resting over the frantic beat of her pulse. The possessive certainty of it pulled a low sound from Casey’s throat.She was supposed to be the one who knew what she was doing. She was supposed to set the pace. But Stephanie’s hips pressed forward and her mouth moved along the line of Casey’s jaw and every plan Casey had made simply left her head.
“You have no idea,” Stephanie breathed against her throat, lips brushing the hollow above her collarbone, “how much I want you.”
Casey’s hands found the curve of Stephanie’s hips and held on, grounding herself in solid warmth and the faint tremor she could feel running through her. “Tell me.”
“Since the bar.” Stephanie’s mouth returned to hers, softer now but no less urgent. “When you put your arm around me. I thought I was going to come apart right there.”
Casey remembered the exact moment. The way Stephanie had leaned into her side, the wide-eyed look she had given her when Ash approached. She had told herself it was fear. She had been wrong.
“Stephanie,” she managed, her voice cracking on the name. “We should slow down.”
Stephanie pulled back enough to meet her eyes. Her hair had fallen loose around her flushed face and her breathing had gone shallow. “Do you want to slow down?”
The question was honest, direct, the same tone Stephanie had used all night once the rum had loosened her tongue.
Casey’s heart hammered against her ribs. The careful answer sat on her tongue. Stephanie was brand new to this. The last thing Casey wanted was to become another thing she regretted when the courage ran out.
But Stephanie was looking at her with those hazel green eyes gone dark and certain, and the careful answer wouldn’t come.
“No,” Casey admitted quietly. “But I don’t want you to feel rushed.”
“I just want to be with you. If that’s okay.”
It was more than okay. It was the thing Casey had been trying not to let herself want since the morning she had seen Stephanie on the porch next door with her coffee and her book.
“My bedroom’s more comfortable,” Casey said. “No expectations. Just… comfort.”
Stephanie nodded. Casey took her hand again and led her down the short hallway, past the guest room to the door at the end. The bedroom felt quieter than the rest of the house. A queen bed with pale linens, a nightstand holding a worn paperback and a half-drunk glass of water, a window facing the side yard where the frangipani dropped pink blossoms in the dark. The ceiling fan turned lazy circles overhead.
Casey turned to look at her, and Stephanie studied her face for a long moment, as if checking for any sign of hesitation. Then she stepped closer, close enough that their bodies brushed, close enough that Casey could feel the way her breath kept catching.
“I want you to kiss me again,” Stephanie said softly. “And I don’t want to stop.”
19
Stephanie stood in Casey’s bedroom with the words still burning on her tongue.I want you to kiss me again. And I don’t want to stop.Heat flooded her face. Who the hell was she right now? She had never said anything like that in her life. Not to Gary. Not to anyone. The boldness sat strange and bright in her chest, thrilling and terrifying at the same time.
Her heart hammered so hard she felt it in her throat. She had spent the last twenty minutes kissing a woman, and her body would not stop reacting. The taste of Casey’s mouth kept returning. The heat low in her belly kept building. Forty-six years of almost nothing, and now this. The contrast left her dizzy.
Casey moved before she could overthink it. Her hands came up to cup Stephanie’s face, thumbs brushing along her jaw in the lightest caress. Then her mouth was there again. The kiss started soft but deepened fast, Casey’s lips parting against hers with a hunger that matched the ache building inside her. A low sound escaped Stephanie’s throat. Her knees actually went weak. She felt alive. Electric. Every nerve in her body lit up at once.
When Casey pulled back they were both breathing unevenly. Stephanie’s pulse raced. She reached for Casey’s hand, lacingtheir fingers together in a touch that felt safer than it should, and guided her toward the bed. The mattress dipped under their weight as they sat. Stephanie swung one leg over and straddled Casey’s hips. Her gray pajama shorts rode up her thighs. Casey’s hands settled lightly at her waist. The simple contact made her feel exposed in a way that had nothing to do with clothing.
She brushed a strand of Casey’s sun-streaked hair behind her ear, fingers lingering on the warm shell. “I’m not crazy, right?” Her voice came out quieter than she meant. “I thought I saw you looking at me tonight like you wanted me, but I wasn’t sure. I should have asked you instead of just kissing you.”
Nerves threaded through every word. She waited for Casey to laugh or pull away. The fear sat sharp under her ribs, but the want pushed harder. She had kissed a woman tonight like she meant it. Her mind kept circling back to that fact.
Casey looked up at her, blue eyes wide with disbelief. Then a soft chuckle escaped her. Her hands slid up Stephanie’s sides in a slow caress that stayed respectful.
“Are you asking me if I’m attracted to you?” Casey smiled, the expression softening her whole face. “I’ve been trying to stop myself from falling for you since the moment we met. Of course I’m attracted to you. And not just your looks. I could listen to you talk for hours. I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together way more than I should, and I hated myself for even suggesting that you should meet Nico, but I was just trying to remind myself that you weren’t interested in me.”
The words eased something tight in Stephanie’s chest. She traced her fingers down Casey’s neck, feeling the steady pulse there. This was real. Casey wanted her back. The realization sent fresh heat rushing through her until her hands trembled on Casey’s shoulders.
“Well I was,” Stephanie said, voice catching. “Even if I didn’t know it exactly yet. But I definitely was.”
She leaned down slowly, giving Casey every chance to stop her, and kissed her again. This kiss stayed softer, mouths brushing with careful exploration. Her fingers trailed along Casey’s collarbone, mapping the warm skin above the halter top in featherlight strokes. She could feel the rise and fall of Casey’s breathing under her touch, the way it hitched when Stephanie’s thumb grazed the edge of fabric. It wasn’t about rushing toward anything physical. It was about this, the way Casey’s hands moved up her back in slow circles, learning the shape of her through the thin tank top without demanding more. Stephanie’s skin prickled everywhere those palms passed, a gentle awareness that made her want to press closer and stay exactly like this all at once.
