Page 55

"Victoria, please," Emma gasped, her fingers clawing into the linen at Victoria’s shoulders.

Victoria drew back slightly, her swollen lips parted and her dark eyes gleaming with quiet amusement despite her ragged breathing. "You will have to be far more specific than that, Emma."

"Shut up and don't stop," Emma whispered, yanking her forward by the lapels until their foreheads collided. "Just don't you dare stop."

A low, wicked grin touched Victoria’s mouth before she pressed her lips against Emma's throat, teeth grazing the skin. "I have no intention of stopping."

Emma hooked her hands firmly around Victoria’s waist, using her leverage to spin their bodies around until Victoria’s spine met the solid wood of the door with a dull thud. A flash of genuine surprise flickered across Victoria’s face, but Emma gave her no time to recalibrate, surging forward to capture her parted lips in a deep, consuming kiss that stole whatever breath Victoria had left.

Holding that furious momentum, Emma began guiding her backward through the dim room, her steps deliberate while Victoria stumbled along blindly in reverse, fingers digging hard into Emma’s biceps for anchor. They crossed the room in a blur of friction and tangled limbs until the back of Victoria’s knees finally struck the low frame of the bed.

Emma stepped immediately into the narrow pocket of space left between them, placing both palms flat against Victoria’s collarbone to give a firm, unhurried push.

Victoria went down without a word, tumbling backward across the white duvet with a soft rustle of linen.

Standing over the edge of the mattress with her chest heaving, Emma waited on edge for the inevitable counterstrike, fully anticipating Victoria to reach up, catch her by the wrists, and flip the dynamic back under her command.

Yet the resistance never materialized.

Victoria remained flat against the mattress, releasing a breath that felt like the exhalation of three grueling months. Her fingers loosened from Emma’s shirt, her arms slumping limp onto the linen. Looking up from the pillow, she simply lay there, every impulse to command or retreat finally quieted.

The quiet vulnerability in that total surrender hit Emma right in the ribs, catching in her throat with a sudden, stinging warmth. Then Victoria’s mouth curved, a faint, lopsided smirk pulling at her bruised lips as her chest rose in another slow breath.

"Feeling rather bold tonight, are we?" Victoria murmured, her voice laced with dry amusement despite the rasp in her throat. "Or should I be thanking that extra glass of cider for the bravado?"

Emma let out a breathy laugh, the sudden injection of familiar banter cutting right through the overwhelming weight in the room. She leaned forward, planting one knee onto the mattress between Victoria’s thighs. "I didn't need the cider to put you where I wanted you."

Victoria’s smirk deepened into something wicked and unguarded as she tilted her chin up to hold Emma’s gaze. "Then by all means, show me what else you have planned."

She straddled Victoria’s thighs. "You have too many clothes on."

"A poor choice on my part," Victoria murmured, a faint smirk touching her lips as her fingers lightly grazed Emma's knees. "Feel free to fix it."

Emma’s gaze darkened as her trembling fingers reached for the front of Victoria’s shirt, slowly unfastening each button until the linen parted to reveal the lace beneath. She peeled the fabric away, letting it slide down Victoria’s shoulders before tossing it carelessly toward the floorboards.

Leaning down, Emma mapped the line of Victoria’s collarbone with a trail of open-mouthed kisses, her fingers reaching behind to undo the clasp of the bra and discard it alongside the shirt.

The heat of bare skin meeting bare skin knocked the remaining composure out of both of them, drawing a sharp, ragged groan from Victoria’s throat as Emma settled the full length of her chest against hers. Victoria’s hands slid urgently up Emma’s back, nails leaving light scrapes along the ridge of her spine while Emma captured her mouth in a consuming kiss, rolling her hips down to grind deliberately against Victoria’s center.

"You feel incredible," Emma murmured, pulling back just far enough to look at her.

Victoria’s cheeks were flushed dark against the white linen, her chest rising and falling in rapid breaths beneath Emma’s hands. "If you intend to stare all night, Emma, you could have done so from across the counter."

Emma smirked. "I'm savoring the view."

Sitting back on her heels, Emma reached for the waistband of Victoria’s trousers, taking her time with the button before sliding the zipper down with agonizing slowness. She dragged the tailored fabric down the long line of Victoria’s legs, giving Victoria just enough room to kick them frantically toward the edge of the mattress.

Without breaking eye contact, Emma hooked her thumbs into the delicate lace of Victoria’s underwear, peeling them away and tossing them aside until nothing stood between them.

Bathed in the pale wash of moonlight cutting through the window, Victoria was breathtaking, the sheer sight of her laid bare turning Emma’s throat completely dry as her gaze traveled up every contour of her body. Crawling lower along the duvet, Emma knelt between Victoria’s parted thighs, sliding her hands beneath the bend of Victoria’s knees to guide them gently, deliberately wider.

"God," Victoria breathed. She threw an arm over her eyes.

Emma paused, her palms resting lightly on the warm skin of Victoria’s knees as her gaze lingered over the flush spreading across Victoria’s throat and chest.

"I almost forgot how stunning you are," Emma murmured, her voice dropping into a quiet rasp.

Victoria let out a shaky, breathy laugh, looking down at her with genuine disbelief through the loose hair falling across the pillows. "Really? You looked entirely terrified of me for the last month and a half."