Charlotte woke with a smile on her face, because last night? Well, it might have been the best night of her life. She hadn’t known how wonderful sex between two women could be. Hell, until last month, she hadn’t even known she was attracted to women.
And now here she was, in love with a woman, wrapped up in her arms with a pleasant soreness between her thighs from a night well spent. But then she heard it again, the high-pitched whine that had awakened her.
“I’m coming, Ember,” Marin mumbled sleepily from behind her.
“That’s what she said ...” Charlotte teased.
Marin’s arm, which rested on Charlotte’s stomach, tightened. “Damn right, it is.”
“I’ll take her out. You stay right here, looking beautiful.” Charlotte sat up, leaning over to give Marin a quick kiss before she slid out of bed.
Ember whined again, and it sounded fairly urgent. Charlotte rushed around to find her clothes, which were discarded all over the floor. That showed how distracted she’d been last night, because shenever let her clothes touch a hotel room floor. Yuck. She’d toss these in the dirty pile as soon as she took the puppy out.
She yanked on her shirt, buttoned her jeans, and slipped her feet into sneakers, then opened the crate. The black puppy barreled into her arms, licking her face as she squirmed to get free. Charlotte stood with her and hurried toward the door, looking around for Ember’s collar and leash as she went. She found them on the table by the door with both their purses.
Two purses. Because Charlotte was dating a woman. Charlotte wasin love witha woman. She grinned as she fastened Ember’s collar and opened the door. She hadn’t even known before last night, but it was true. She was in love,so muchin love.
The cold air outside was a rude interruption to her warm, happy introspection, but luckily Ember didn’t mess around. She took care of business and scampered right back to the door. Charlotte followed her in, shutting the door behind them.
Marin was just coming out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but an oversize blue T-shirt. Charlotte opened her mouth to say something but promptly forgot whatever it was as she got lost staring at Marin’s bare legs. She didn’t even notice the scar running down Marin’s right thigh until Marin’s hand shifted to cover it.
“You know that’s not what I was staring at, right?” Charlotte asked.
“I . . . wasn’t sure.”
Charlotte stepped closer, sliding a hand beneath the T-shirt to cup Marin’s bare ass. “I was admiring your legs because they’re sexy as hell, and seeing you nearly naked is really turning me on.”
“Oh,” Marin said somewhat bashfully.
“I’ll tell you as many times as it takes. Your scars are part of you, and since I think all of you is beautiful, that means I find your scars beautiful too.”
“I really love you.” Marin leaned in for another kiss. Her mouth was minty from toothpaste, while Charlotte still had morning breath.
“Love you, too, but let me go freshen up, okay?”
“Mm-hmm. I’ll take this one.” Marin reached for the leash Charlotte had completely forgotten she was holding.
Charlotte went into the bathroom. When she reemerged a few minutes later, she was wearing only her T-shirt, having left the rest of her dirty clothes behind. She found Marin in bed with Ember curled up against her chest. “Mind if I join this snugglefest?”
Marin held the sheet up, inviting her in. “We insist that you do.”
Charlotte slid into bed, giggling as the puppy started energetically licking her face. “Love you too, Ember, but I was actually hoping to kiss your mom instead.”
Marin laughed softly. “She’s kind of a mood killer, but this is our morning routine after she goes out for the first time.”
“It seems like an awfully nice way to start the day.” Charlotte leaned around Ember to place a quick kiss on Marin’s lips. “I didn’t expect any of this, but I’m so glad I tagged along on your trip.”
“I’m glad too.” Marin kissed her again, one hand coming to rest on Charlotte’s hip.
“We did pretty well last night, considering it was both of our first times with a woman,” Charlotte said.
“I’d say we did better than ‘pretty well.’” Marin winked, her expression heating.
“Yeah, we did.” Charlotte found her hand beneath the covers and squeezed. “I was kind of fumbling my way through it, but you seemed to actually know what you were doing, which means when we get back to Vermont, I need you to introduce me to sapphic romance novels because they sound hot and seem to give some very good pointers for the newbies like me.”
“I would bethrilledto do that.”
They dozed in bed together with Ember cuddled between them until it was time for Marin to get ready for breakfast with her sister. Charlotte felt the mood shift as they got out of bed. It was as if a weight had settled over Marin’s shoulders, and Charlotte wasn’t sure how to ease it for her.
