Sara scrambled to stand, then carefully sat astride her. “This okay? I’m not too heavy?”
Shaking her head, Rachel gripped Sara’s waist with both hands. “Not for me.” She smirked. “I can’t vouch for the bench though.”
Sara grinned down at her. “I don’t care about the bench.” Wrapping her arms around Rachel’s neck, she kissed her—like she’d wanted to do the whole time they’d been sat there.
Soft full lips opened under hers, demanding more, and Sara wanted to stay in that moment forever—the two of them wrapped around each other with the sun shining down on them and the sounds of the stream in the background. Almost perfect.
The only thing missing was her mating mark on Rachel’s neck.
“Stop thinking and justfeel.” Rachel’s whispered words were accompanied by her hand slipping under Sara’s dress. A breathy moan escaped her as she worked her fingers inside Sara’s knickers and found her wet.
“Oh fuck.” Sara tipped her head back, holding tight to Rachel’s shoulders as she rocked back and forth. Pleasure curled low in her belly, the smell of sex and arousal filling the air around them and mixing with their scents in the most delicious way. “I want to touch you too.” With the way they were positioned, there was no way she was getting in Rachel’s trousers, but her shirt was fair game.
With deft fingers, Sara reached between them and undid the top few buttons with one hand, the other sliding up into Rachel’s hair. She gave it a tug as she brushed a thumb over Rachel’s nipple, and the resulting gasp sent a shiver down her spine. They might have only done this once before, but her hands were sure, as though she knew Rachel’s body as well as her own.
“This is insane,” she whispered, burying her head in the crook of Rachel’s neck and breathing deep. A moan escaped her as Rachel’s fingers caught her just right. “We hardly know each other… and yet…”
“It feels like I’ve known you forever,” Rachel finished for her.
“Yes. Same for me.” Bonds were like that. She’d read about them and heard people talk about it but had never quite believed it happened like that. How could you fall so hard for someone you’d only just met? Whether it was magic, something in their DNA, or pure luck, Sara didn’t care. The woman in her arms was everything in that moment, and her instincts screamed that this was right. They were meant for each other.
The soft smooth skin of Rachel’s neck teased her, and she bit her lip in an effort to keep her teeth away. It would be so easy to let her fangs out and bite down. So, so easy…
“No.” Rachel hissed, as if sensing her thoughts. She slid a hand around the back of Sara’s neck and eased her head up. “We can’t. We promised. And the consequences aren’t something either of us would want.”
“I know,” Sara whined, her wolf desperate to get out, fangs sliding out despite her best efforts. “But I want to. So bad.”
“I do too, believe me.” Rachel gently kissed her around her fangs, flicking her tongue over the tips, and Sara shivered again. “But we have this.” Rachel rubbed her fingers over Sara’s clit, slow and firm. “Forget about the rest for now. Focus on me.”
Sara closed her eyes, doing as Rachel asked. “Yeah,” she murmured. “Keep doing that.”
Rachel kept the same steady rhythm going, kissing along Sara’s jaw until she reached a spot behind her ear that made Sara shiver.
“Oh fuck, don’t stop,” Sara whispered.
Breathy laughter tickled her skin, “Not planning on it.”
The pleasure built and built as Rachel’s expert fingers took her apart, and Sara cried out as her orgasm swept through her. For those few glorious seconds, everything was perfect, and Sara clung to it for as long as she could.
When she finally looked up and met Rachel’s gaze, the heated look in her eyes took her breath away. “Your turn,” she whispered, and started to stand at the same time as the alarm on Rachel’s phone sounded, startling them both and shattering the bubble around them.
“Time’s up.” Rachel looked as gutted as Sara felt. The elation of only moments before replaced by the gut-wrenching realisation they had to part again.
She wanted to say something, anything to take some of the pain away, but words failed her. Instead she slowly buttoned Rachel’s shirt back up, letting her hand linger over her heart for a second, then stood and rearranged her dress and underwear. She held her hand out for Rachel. “Come on.”
Rachel hesitated. “I should wash up before I go back to the others.”
“They’ll smell it on you anyway. We can’t hide what we did.” Sara frowned, confused. Was Rachel suddenly ashamed?
Grasping Sara’s hand, she twined their fingers and stood. “I don’t care about that.”
“Then what?”
“I can’t face saying goodbye to you in front of all the others.” Rachel sucked in a breath, then let it out slowly, steeling herself. “I’m going to say it here, then go to the bathroom while you leave.” Resting their foreheads together, she whispered, “I can’t watch you drive away.”
“Me either.” As she said it, Sara realised it was true. She didn’t want to watch Rachel get into that car and drive back to London, not knowing when, or even if, they were going to see each other again. After a shaky breath in, she cupped Rachel’s face in both hands. “Be safe.” She couldn’t face telling her goodbye.
“You too.”
