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“So, um…” She lifted Lydia’s hand to her lips and pressed a lingering kiss to the back of it. “Would Friday be too soon for me to fly to New York?”

“No,” Lydia croaked, her voice thick with emotion, though there was a hint of a smile mixed with the sadness. “It’s definitely not too soon.”

Zann smiled and kissed her hand again. “Good.”

“Very good,” Lydia agreed as they transitioned from the path to the street leading to their cottage.

They shared a smile, and Zann leaned in to kiss her sweetly. “We’ll figure it out,” she promised.

Her heart squeezed at the way Lydia’s free hand cradled her face as she agreed, her voice soft but sure, “We will.”

Buoyed by the hope that grew in the space created by the first tentative plans for a future, the silence that settled over them as they turned toward their little cottage for the last time was golden and warm with possibility.

Inside, Zann tossed the key toward the little table just beside the door as Lydia closed it behind them. Her heart leapt at the sound of the deadbolt tumbling over, and she licked her lips as she spun to take Lydia into her arms.

“I am so glad I met you,” Lydia whispered, her voice hushed with reverence.

“I’m so glad I met you,” Zann echoed, just as fervently. She touched her forehead to Lydia’s, her throat tightening with emotion as she lovingly caressed her back. “I know you need to leave first thing tomorrow—do you want to pack?”

Lydia shook her head and pressed up onto the balls of her feet so their mouths were level. “I’ll do it in the morning,” she murmured, affection shining in her eyes as she tenderly cradled Zann’s face in her hands. “I don’t want to waste my last night with you worrying about that.”

Zann hummed and kissed her softly. “What do you want?”

“You,” Lydia exhaled, her fingertips pressing pleadingly against the edge of Zann’s jaw, her gaze gentle and wanting and so fucking beautiful that it stole the breath from Zann’s lungs.

“I am yours,” Zann promised, the words barely louder than a breath as she closed the distance between them. She cradled Lydia in her arms as she kissed her slow and tender, like they had all the time in the world. A low moan broke in her throat when that first gentle kiss heralded another, and then another, each more breathtakingly ardent than the last.

“Zann…” Lydia whined.

Zann’s pulse stuttered, and her stomach clenched at the beautifully wanting tenor of Lydia’s voice. It was equal parts desire and desperation, but there was a fragility to it that broke Zann’s heart. “I know, love,” she murmured before kissing her again as she began walking them toward the bedroom.

She splayed her hands over Lydia’s back, holding her close as they blindly traversed the familiar path, both of them too focused on the heavenly pull of their lips, every kiss trembling with their need not to take, but to give their hearts, their souls, their everything to the other, to pay attention to where they were going.

It was unlike anything Zann had ever felt, and she was completely undone by the intensity of it all.

She moaned against Lydia’s lips when they reached the bed and Lydia’s back bowed away from her, that quiet protest melting into a sigh of pure surrender as Lydia’s hands slid over her shoulders to her chest and then lower, so nimble fingers could work at the buttons on her waistcoat. She moaned into the kiss, her hips bucking needfully as little sparks of electricity skittered through her in the wake of Lydia’s fingers gently pressing lower, lower, lower as button after button popped free.

Zann shivered as the last one came undone and Lydia’s hands slipped beneath the waistcoat to caress her stomach. Lydia’s touch burned through the thin fabric of her shirt, and her underwear was effectively ruined when Lydia sucked on her lower lip as she tugged her shirt from her slacks.

“Much better,” Lydia declared, her voice silky and shadowed with desire as she dipped her hands beneath Zann’s shirt to scratch her sides.

“So much,” Zann agreed, chasing after Lydia’s lips as she slid a hand up her spine to tease the little tab of her zipper from its hiding space.

This slow undressing was fucking incredible, but she needed to feel Lydia’s body against hers.

The breathy, choked whimper that caught in Lydia’s throat when she began tugging at the zipper was delicious, and Zann moaned when Lydia’s hands disappeared from her sides as she began working at the buttons on her shirt. Their undressing was more determined than frantic, wanting, but stopping shy of desperate. Zann’s shirt and waistcoat hit the ground two heartbeats after Lydia’s dress had puddled there, her slacks following suit immediately after, and Zann cradled Lydia’s ribs to steady her as she used the pressure of her kiss to tip Lydia back to the mattress.

Zann kissed Lydia as she settled against her side and ran a loving hand over her side. She pulled away to watch her fingers glide over the subtle dip of Lydia’s oblique, and her stomach swooped as she slid higher to reverently trace the smooth arc where black satin met Lydia’s left breast. “You are so beautiful.”

“Zann,” Lydia pleaded, tugging at Zann’s shoulder.

Zann palmed her breast, rolling and squeezing in the way Lydia enjoyed. “What do you need, love?”

Lydia’s back arched higher, a breathy, wanting cry escaping her when Zann thumbed her nipple. “Please take it off.”

Zann groaned and tweaked her nipple firmly before reaching behind Lydia to unclasp her bra. She kissed her as she peeled it from her body and tossed it off the side of the bed, and smiled into the kiss when the hand on her shoulder that’d been pulling her closer, closer, closer, released to scratch down her spine and pinch open the clasp on her bra.

They shared a sigh as she settled back on top of Lydia, their kisses slowing and deepening as their hands wandered lovingly over dips and curves, teasing little gasps and moans from the other’s lips. It was a slow build as they lost themselves in the moment, lovingly tending the flame of desire that burned between them until it had grown into a blaze that could no longer be ignored.