Page 100 of Quiver

Kylie laughed and kissed her cheek before hopping up onto the counter. Her knees spread slightly as her feet dangled, and the robe fell a little looser at both the V of her neck and the slit, revealing more of Kylie’s inner thighs. “Am I?”

Fletcher’s pulse revved, and it didn’t even matter that Kylie’s attempt to toy with her was one hundred percent transparent. It was also one hundred percent successful because enough blood left her brain for Fletcher to forget the initial request.

She stepped into the space between Kylie’s legs, gripping her calf muscles with each hand and massaging her way up slowly.

Kylie’s pupils dilated, but her voice didn’t waver as she said, “I really do prefer waffles.”

Fletcher ran her fingers along the inside of her knees. “Pancakes are softer.”

“Softer isn’t always … better.”

“No?” She edged her way along the smooth skin.

“Waffles hold up, and um …” She bit her lip for a second, causing Fletcher to smile.

“Yes?”

“I like to put butter and syrup in every single square.”

“’Cause you like to keep your gluttony orderly?”

Kylie started to roll her eyes, but managed only to close them as Fletcher worked high enough to feel the heat at her center. “Yes.”

Fletcher leaned toward her and brushed her lips close to her ear. “Yes to what?”

Kylie’s head tilted back until it rested against the cabinet behind her. “Yes to gluttony.”

Fletcher skimmed the back of her fingers lightly against exactly the spot they both wanted. “Then I’ll put chocolate chips in your pancakes, which is what we’re having for breakfast.”

Then she pulled back and walked over to the fridge as if she needed to grab the milk, trying not to reveal that she also needed to stick her head inside for a minute to cool off.

As she walked back to the stove, Kylie stared at her, admiration mixing with the lust in her gaze. When Fletcher got close enough, Kylie sank a hand into her hair and tilted her head back the way she always liked to do, but this time, instead of going for her neck, Kylie held Fletcher’s gaze for a few more seconds while her smile spread. “Well played.”

Kylie ducked her head slightly as Winston sauntered under a snow-covered pine branch, then turned around to see Fletcher and Gabrielle clear it as well, and smiled. The sight of her, relaxed and in her element, still did something to her she couldn’t quite explain, but the feeling it inspired started low in her core and spread its warmth outward through her limbs. It was the same feeling she got when they’d shared a bowl of popcorn on the couch, or when she’d come down the stairs to find Fletcher humming as she flipped grilled cheeses at the stove. Only here, out in the wild reaches of the farm, those sensations amplified, as expansive as the wide meadow spreading out in a sheet of glistening white before them.

She turned in the saddle to take it all in as Fletcher steered Gabrielle up next to her. Her lungs filled with crisp, cold air and stretched her ribs in ways they didn’t back in the city. They walked the horses leisurely around the perimeter of the field, skirting along the tree line in a lazy loop. The crunch of hooves on snow and the distant call of a winter bird were the only sounds she could hear this far out, and her eyes scanned the blue of the sky, the deep emeralds and browns of the forest’s edge, sun reflecting amber from every angle. Everything seemed cleaner, clearer, more vibrant.

“I forgot how beautiful things could be here,” Kylie whispered reverently.

“Me too,” Fletcher said softly.

Kylie turned her head to take her in fully, only to find she was watching her instead of the scenery. Her breath caught at the intimacy of her gaze. It had been a lifetime since anyone had looked at her that way.

“What do you think?” Fletcher asked.

Emotions pushed up from her chest to tighten in her throat, and she turned away. “I was remembering how much I love … this place.”

She glanced back to see Fletcher smile, seemingly content with the half-truth. Kylie had been thinking about something she loved, but she wasn’t sure it was this place so much as this woman.

She flashed back to Ava’s earlier comment about not being able to say the words. It seemed even dumber now than it had in that moment. She knew what she felt, and she’d even told Fletcher they’d both always known. Wasn’t that basically saying it? She’d certainly danced right up to the line several times over the last few days as they’d made love time and time again.

That’s what they were doing these days, making love, not blowing off steam or screwing around or frustration fucking in a hayloft. She’d spent the last three nights in Fletcher’s bed, in her arms, inside her body. She knew what it meant, at least at its basest level, and she suspected the woman beside her did, too. But, knowing something and admitting it were two different things. She couldn’t put her finger on why as the cowardice crept up in her now. “Gabrielle’s come a long way in the last few weeks.”

Fletcher shrugged and let her leg brush against Kylie as they rode close to each other. “I’m starting to suspect the accident got to her as much as it did to me, at least on an intellectual level, like we both decided we aren’t going to do that again.”

“I appreciate it, Gabrielle,” Kylie said, causing the horse’s ears to twitch and Winston to snort his displeasure at her daring to offer affirmation to anyone but him. She patted his neck. “I appreciate you, too, buddy.”

Fletcher shook her head. “You’re a bigger softie than you want anyone to know, but I won’t tell on you.”