Page 6

Zann grinned. “Believe me, you’ll be the first to know when I do.”

A slow-rolling shiver trickled down Lydia’s spine at the suggestion dripping in Zann’s tone, and she tried to imbue the same into her voice as she murmured, “I can’t wait.”

Zann’s gait faltered, and she shook her head as she muttered, “Christ, me neither.”

The peekaboo glimpse of the woman behind the suave exterior was beyond endearing, and Lydia chuckled as the path before them opened to the street their cottages were on. Hers was the first walkway off the path, and she sighed as she stopped at the edge of it. The night had been so much better than she could have ever anticipated, and she genuinely hated that it was over. “This is me.”

Zann’s eyes drifted to the quaint stained-glass light beside the front door of Lydia’s home away from home for the week. One second passed, then another. Her expression thoughtful. Considering.

The cool, briny air squeezed oppressively around them as Zann looked back at her with dark eyes that positively burned with carnal intent and offered, “Would you like me to walk you up?”

Feeling like they’d been building to this from the moment she’d first laid eyes on Zann, Lydia nodded. She was utterly charmed by the way Zann’s throat bobbed heavily as she nodded back, as if she couldn’t believe this was happening, and she smiled at her as she turned to make her way to the door.

Her stomach swooped at the way Zann’s hand settled low on the small of her back as they walked, and she silently willed her racing pulse to get itself under control as she stopped in the muddled green and gold and rose-tinted puddle of light on the cottage’s small front porch. She wasn’t some inexperienced teenager, but she felt so much like one in that moment that she didn’t dare glance over her shoulder at Zann as she fished her key from her purse and touched it to the electronic lock.

The hair on the back of Lydia’s neck stood on end when the quiet snick of the lock disengaging rolled through her like thunder. Her stomach tightened with anticipation as she pushed the door open, and she drew a long, steadying breath as she stepped inside.

She licked her lips as she made her way over to the small console table to put down her things and kick off her heels, and let her eyes drift shut as Zann closed the door after them. She held her breath, afraid to do anything that might shatter this fragile moment of expectant exhilaration that grew and expanded with every solid, steady fall of Zann’s boots against the cottage’s hardwood floors.

Step by measured step, the tension built and built and built until Zann stopped behind her, and then the world went silent.

The breath she’d been holding escaped her in a trembling rush when Zann’s left hand ghosted over her hip, and she relaxed beneath her touch as the long fingers she’d been captivated by all night brushed her hair away from her neck so soft, soft lips could kiss the sensitive hollow beneath her jaw.

She whimpered as Zann moaned against her throat and moved closer, the hand on her side gliding around her waist to splay over her stomach, drawing her firmly against Zann’s body. The lips on her throat dragged with slow, sinful precision to her ear, and her eyes rolled back in her head at the delicious flash of pleasure that bolted through her when dull teeth nipped ever so gently at her earlobe.

“God, yes,” she whimpered.

A low, lush hum rumbled in Zann’s throat as she pulled away to nuzzle her ear, and Lydia’s knees turned to water at the care that textured Zann’s voice when she asked, “Are you sure?”

Zann held her breath when, instead of responding, Lydia’s hold on her hand atop her abdomen loosened, and she turned in her arms. Despite the fact that she wasn’t actively breathing, her pulse was absolutely deafening as it thundered in her ears as Lydia spun in her embrace to face her. Seconds ticked into a goddamn eternity as Lydia’s chin tipped up to capture her gaze, the breaths she wasn’t taking further stolen from her by the way Lydia’s pupils dilated as she looped her arms around her neck.

Lydia’s eyes, so dark and beautifully wanting, dipped to her mouth, and Zann was overcome by an unexpected wave of tenderness for this woman she had only just met when Lydia whispered, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more sure of anything in my life.”

The breath she’d been holding left her in a rush as Lydia’s words washed over her, and she grew dangerously lightheaded as she dipped her head to hover her mouth above Lydia’s. Her eyes fluttered at the feeling of Lydia’s breath, so exquisitely ragged and wanting, crashing against her lips, and she wrapped her arms around Lydia’s waist to draw her flush against her as she confessed, “Me neither.”

She ran her hands over Lydia’s hips and angled closer, inviting the kiss she so desperately wanted as Lydia rose to meet her. The first touch of Lydia’s lips blazed through her like fire, burning her from the inside out in a glorious instant. She moaned and pressed closer to deepen the kiss, welcoming her immolation as she swirled her tongue around Lydia’s. She tugged Lydia’s blouse from her slacks as they traded long, gloriously deep kisses, and her knees turned to water at the pitched, breathy sound of wanting that broke against her tongue when she slipped her hands beneath the fabric.

God, it shouldn’t be this good, she thought as she caressed Lydia’s back and sides, reveling in the softness of her skin and the veritable furnace that roared beneath it.

“Fuck, Zann,” Lydia gasped as she wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and arched into her.

She was the perfect image of feminine desire, and Zann hummed as she dragged the backs of her fingers up Lydia’s ribs, lightly teasing, delighting in the way Lydia’s back bowed as her touch drifted higher, wordlessly inviting her to touch as the harsh fall of her breath begged for it.

Zann swallowed a whimper as she let the desperation of the fingers digging into the back of her neck and the heat of Lydia’s breath crashing against her lips guide her. She genuinely wasn’t sure which of them moaned louder when she took Lydia’s breasts in her hands, and she squeezed them roughly as she surged forward to reclaim her lips in a fantastically messy kiss.

She sucked on Lydia’s tongue as she tugged the cups of her bra down so she could get at her nipples, and her stomach swooped deliciously when her fingertips brushed against matching metal barbells.

Holy shit, her nips are pierced.

Lydia was so poised and proper in her bespoke suit and red-soled heels that it was a wonderfully unexpected discovery, and her stomach tightened as she strummed the ends of the piercings once, twice, three times before giving them an exploratory little tug that drew a positively wrecked cry from Lydia.

Her pulse thundered in her clit as she broke away to watch Lydia’s face as she played with the jewelry, reveling in the color that spread across Lydia’s cheeks and the hunger that darkened her eyes when she blinked them open to stare at her. She held her gaze as she hooked the pad of a finger under each barbell to tweak her nipples, and she clenched as she kissed away the pleased moan that spilled from Lydia’s lips.

My god, she’s perfect.

She nuzzled Lydia’s cheek as she did it again, coaxing an even louder moan from her as she checked, “Okay?”

“So good.” Blunt nails dug into the back of her neck, and a slow, sinful smile bowed Lydia’s lips as her gaze flicked, ever so briefly, down toward her chest. “Your mouth would be even better, though.”