Charlotte’s eyes widened.
“We don’t have to do anything but sleep, but it’s a big bed, Charlotte. Share it with me.”
Charlotte looked down at her lap. “Funny you should mention that, because I actually checked out the sofa bed earlier, and it’s broken. Totally unusable.”
“So you’re telling me there’s only one bed?” Marin couldn’t help laughing.
“Yes?” Charlotte gave her a questioning look. “What am I missing?”
“Sorry, it’s a romance-novel thing. ‘Only one bed’ is averypopular trope.”
“Oh,” Charlotte said. “I mean, I was just going to sleep on the couch itself.”
“That sounds so uncomfortable. Please share the bed with me. We can just sleep.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “I want to do more than sleep. I hope you know that. It’s just ... I’m scared. I don’t know anything about sex between two women. I’ve been meaning to research it, but I got caughtup in everything with my mom. Meanwhile, you’ve been waiting such a long time, and I feel like you deserve more than I can give you.”
“Impossible,” Marin assured her, one of her hands stroking the skin above Charlotte’s jeans, and even that simple touch had her pulse racing. Once they made it to the bedroom—whenever that happened—she was going to absolutely lose her mind. She got wet just thinking about it. “I’m so attracted to you, anything we do will be amazing. We’re both going to be feeling our way, so to speak, but I think that could make it even more special. We’ll have to check in a lot, right? Ask each other what we like and what feels good. Trial and error sounds really fucking sexy, if you ask me.”
“Yeah.” Charlotte’s breath hitched as Marin scratched her nails lightly over her skin. “I likethat, by the way.” Charlotte slipped a hand beneath Marin’s shirt, then slid it up to cup her over her bra, and Marin ached to feel that hand on her bare skin. Shethrobbed. All this foreplay with Charlotte was the sweetest kind of torture.
“See?” Marin’s voice was raspy with need. “Feeling our way. We’re already good at it. I’m one hundred percent confident we’ll figure the rest out ... when the time comes.”
Charlotte blinked at her out of lust-drunk eyes. “One hundred percent?”
Marin nodded. “And as a statistician, I don’t say that unless I mean it.”
“Mare,” Charlotte whispered, and something in her tone only increased the ache between Marin’s thighs. “I’d like to share the bed with you.”
“What are you saying?” Marin asked, because she had to be sure. She couldn’t stand much more teasing, not if Charlotte was going to share her bed platonically tonight.
“I’m saying, I want to do more than sleep in that bed.”
“Are you sure you’re ready? I know you wanted to focus on family before relationships this year ...”
Charlotte’s gaze never wavered. “I’m sure. I thought a relationship might distract me from my goal of finding my mom, because my previous relationshipsweredistracting, but it’s different with you. You’re my best friendandmy partner, and you encourage me in everything I do. If I get a new lead, you’ll help me chase it, whether we’re sleeping together or not.”
“Oh, Charlotte ...” Marin blinked the tears from her eyes.
“So yeah, I’m ready. Let’s live out your ‘only one bed’ trope. What do you say?”
“Yes. I say yes.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Charlotte trembled with anticipation as she stood in the doorway to the bedroom, watching Marin tuck Ember into her crate. Anticipation ... and maybe a little bit of fear. Not fear of having sex with Marin, but what if Charlotte didn’t know what to do? What if she failed to live up to whatever fantasies Marin had in her head from the romance novels she loved so much?
With Ember put away, Marin shut off the overhead light, then crossed the room to stand in front of Charlotte. They’d left the light on in the kitchen, and it cast a warm glow over Marin’s features. “I’m not trying to hide from you, Charlotte. I just didn’t think Ember would settle for the night with the light on.”
“Why would you hide from me?” Charlotte asked. After all, of the two of them, Marin had been the most eager to move things to the bedroom.
“I have scars.” Marin held her gaze, not flinching away, but even in the low light, Charlotte saw the insecurity in her features. “I know you know that, but I haven’t been with anyone since before the accident,and ... I’veneverbeen with anyone I was attracted to. This is a pretty big deal for me.”
Somehow, it was a relief for Charlotte to realize they both had some insecurities about tonight. “It’s a big deal for both of us. Your scars are a testament to what you survived, Mare. I understand why you might feel self-conscious, but I’ve always found wrinkles and scars to be a beautiful and intriguing part of someone’s body. They’re marks of a life lived, right?”
Marin smiled, eyes glossy with unshed tears. “That’s a lovely way of looking at it. I’m not ashamed of my wrinkles or my scars, but I’mawareof them ... and that I didn’t have them the last time I undressed for someone new.”
“It’s safe to say I find everything about you beautiful.” Charlotte rested her hands on Marin’s hips and drew her closer. “I always have. I didn’t knowwhyI found you so captivating at first, or why I always wanted to find excuses to touch you ...”
