I groaned again. “Tease.”
She snagged my gaze, then licked her lips. “I’m a pro at it.”
Her tongue was a blur all over my skin as she worked me up into a frenzy. Then her fingers slid down my body, and finally arrived where I needed them most. She slipped two fingers inside my pants, nudging the cotton aside.
I spread my legs wider: I was practically begging.
I didn’t care. I wanted Eliza inside me. But she wouldn’t comply, instead slipping around my clit, causing small explosions all over my body. My heart thudded so hard in my chest, I was surprised the whole festival didn’t feel the tremors. Perhaps they could.
Outside, someone laughed, and I smelt woodfire.
“I thought we did well not fucking in New York,” Eliza told me, sliding two fingers around me.
I closed my eyes as my own internal firepit caught alight, a warmth rumbling through me. When Eliza’s fingertips slipped inside, I gasped, and so did she.
“You’re so wet,” Eliza whispered, her voice brittle as she trailed kisses down my neck, nipping at my pulse point. My hands trembled as I fisted the cotton sheets, but she didn’t pull away. This was surrender, raw and real. If I’d been scared about opening up and being vulnerable with her, this was one surefire way to break the dam.
We’d been friends, rivals, sworn enemies, always circling, always clashing. But tonight, after days of tension, we were crossing the line. There was no coming back. From the look in Eliza’s eyes, she knew that, too. She curled her fingers inside me, then dropped down until her breath was over me.
I sent up a prayer to the goddess of love as Eliza’s tongue began a slalom course over my clit and her fingers slid slowly in and out.
I crushed my head into the plush pillows as the fire inside truly took hold.
Outside, the leaves rustled in the wind; inside, Eliza picked up a rhythm, checking in with me that it was okay, before she took over completely, ramping up the intensity until I teetered on the edge. Then she was on top of me, her mouth rough against mine, her fingers a blur of activity as she took me over the top, before opening my parachute for a safe landing.
As I came, the wind chimes outside applauded. I stared up into Eliza’s deep-blue eyes and marvelled at this woman who was somebody completely different in the bedroom. She was wild. Untamed. Which suited the setting, and oddly, suited her in the sheets.
Now I’d sampled a hint of it, I only wanted more.
The only problem was, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to articulate that, because I could never imagine speaking again. This was me now. Mute, but happy.
Eliza seemed to understand what I was feeling through the medium of eyelash flickers. She kissed both my cheeks with a tenderness that made my insides ache, then she gathered me into her arms as if I was the most precious cargo in the whole world.
Being cared for in this way was my weak spot, because my parents had never done it, and neither had any partner. Nobodyhad ever figured it out before. It had to be Eliza who made the connection on the first night.
A flash of uncertainty passed through me, as I remembered who I was with and where I was. But I brushed it aside. I didn’t want to spoil this moment.
“That was incredible. You’re incredible.” She stared at me like she was snapping the moment for later. “I know we said nothing could happen, but after we kissed, it felt inevitable, didn’t it?” Her gaze didn’t falter.
I could hardly breathe. “It feels like I’ve finally come up for air after a month underwater.”
So many times in the past few years I wanted to throttle Eliza. Had it all been because I secretly wanted to jump her, as Amina said? Perhaps. But now, looking into her beautiful face, I had to trust her.
An orgasm aftershock rattled through me and I shivered, closed my eyes, then climbed on top of Eliza, still high on the sex sugar rush.
“Now I’ve got my breath back, how about I make you breathless?” I said.
Eliza grinned wide. “I really want your mouth on me. After kissing you, I’ve thought about that all week.”
I pulled her top off, then straddled her. “I’ll see what I can do.”
CHAPTER 21
The following morning, my head felt like it had been used as a percussion instrument by Roka’s overly enthusiastic drummer. It took me several moments of squinting at unfamiliar fabric walls to work out where I was, and then it all came flooding back with the subtlety of a brick through a window.
I turned my head 90 degrees to see Eliza next to me, her blonde hair splayed across the pillow.
I smiled before I could stop myself.
