“I guess so,” Marin agreed. “Eventually, we pretty much quit having sex entirely. He went elsewhere, and I couldn’t even really blame him.”
“I could blame him,” Charlotte said bitterly.
Marin gave her an amused look. “I mean, I don’t excuse his cheating, but our marriage was doomed from the start with me being a lesbian, so he shouldn’t shoulderallthe blame.”
“I guess.”
“Anyway, I discovered sapphic romance books, and let me tell you, that was life changing.” Marin was talking faster now. She seemed looser.Drunk.She was drunk, and Charlotte should stop her from sharing too much, but she was drunk, too, and she desperately wanted to know everything Marin was telling her. “I read every chance I got, and those books ... they made me feel things my husband never could.”
Charlotte exhaled in a shocked laugh. “Oh my god.”
“Right?” Marin’s lips quirked. “There I was, ignoring my husband, spending every free moment with my Kindle and my vibrator.”
“Marin!” Her hand was on Marin’s arm now, and she didn’t remember putting it there. Marin’s skin was so warm beneath hers, and she couldn’t quite bring herself to move, especially not when Marin was looking at her through slightly hooded eyes. Maybe she was thinking about those books right now. Charlotte certainly was.
“It was so validating, though.” Marin’s voice was a little bit quieter now, a little bit deeper, and it seemed to rub over Charlotte’s nerve endings, making her want, making herache. “Once I started reading those books, everything made sense. I related to stories of two women falling in love in a way I’d never related to a straight romance book. I swooned for them. Iyearnedfor them. And when there were steamy scenes ...” She bit her bottom lip.
Charlotte felt an answering clench somewhere deep inside herself. “Yeah?”
“Those scenes made mefeelthings,” Marin whispered.
“That’s really hot.” Charlotte’s voice was a whisper now too.
“Books were enough excitement while I was married, but now ...” Marin looked down at Charlotte’s hand, which was still on her arm. “I want to feel a woman’s hand on my skin.”
“Like this?” Charlotte trailed her fingertips up the inside of Marin’s arm. She had no idea what she was doing, or why she was doing it, but her heart was pounding so hard, and a delicious ache built between her thighs as her fingers slid over Marin’s skin.
Marin’s breath hitched, and her eyes fell shut. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Do you ... do you like that?” Charlotte’s head was spinning with a combination of wine and arousal until she had no idea what she was doing or saying, except that she wanted to give Marin all the pleasure she’d waited so long to experience. Charlotte wanted to keep touching her. She wanted to kiss her. God, she wanted to kiss her so badly.
Goose bumps had risen on Marin’s arm where Charlotte touched her, and Charlotte didn’t want to read too much into this, but ... Marin opened her eyes, andgod, she looked aroused. She looked like she craved Charlotte’s touch every bit as much as Charlotte craved touching her.
Charlotte almost felt as if she’d stepped outside her body as she watched herself take Marin’s hand and lift it to her mouth. She pressed a kiss to the tender skin on Marin’s wrist, and Marin’s lips parted as she sucked in air. Emboldened, Charlotte kissed her wrist again, and Marin’s features tightened with what looked unmistakably like pleasure.
Her eyes shut, and her mouth hung open in a silent moan. She looked like ...
Charlotte’s clit throbbed because Marin looked like she was in the throes of passion. Marin’s chest heaved for breath, and her nipples were hard beneath her shirt. She’d just told Charlotte that she’d never experienced passion with a partner before, and now ...
“Marin, look at me.”
Marin did. Her eyes opened, pinning Charlotte in her gaze. She licked her lips, and her gaze dropped to Charlotte’s mouth. Charlotte watched in real time as Marin’s pupils dilated, and there was no other way to interpret what was happening. Surely there wasn’t.
Yes, Charlotte was drunk, but she didn’t think she was imagining this. Warning bells clanged in the back of her mind that the alcohol was affecting her judgment. Likely, it was affecting both their judgment ... or maybe it had loosened their inhibitions? Maybe the wine had freed them to do what they wanted, andohhow Charlotte wanted.
Her body flushed hot, and she just ... she had to kiss her. Charlotte leaned in. She didn’t pause, didn’t give herself a chance to change her mind. Marin wanted passion. She wanted the pleasure of a woman’s kiss, and now so did Charlotte. More than anything. She wanted the pleasure of Marin’s kiss.
She pressed her lips to Marin’s, and several things immediately became clear. One, Charlotte was definitely not straight. She was attracted to women, or at least, toonewoman ...
And two, Marin was finally experiencing passion. A guttural sound of pleasure escaped her throat as her lips moved against Charlotte’s. Her eyes slammed shut, and her free hand slid onto Charlotte’s thigh, gripping her over her jeans. She looked absolutely overcome, and honestly? Same.
Charlotte slid closer, pressing Marin into the couch as she kissed her the way she’d been wanting to kiss her all week. And nothing,nothing, had ever felt so right.
Chapter Fifteen
Marin felt like she was dreaming. One minute, she’d been spilling her most embarrassing secrets to Charlotte—the wine haddefinitelyloosened her tongue—and the next thing she knew, Charlotte was touching her arm, kissing her wrist, kissing herlips, and Marin’s body was on fire in a way she’d never felt before.
She had sparks. An inferno of them. And they were worth every moment she’d waited to experience them. Ohfuck...
