“You mean when she initially mentioned dinner last week, and you chose the club instead?”
“Y-yes.” Jo still felt terrible for choosing Satin over Amelia, even if the end result had been them sharing dinner with one another. “Maybe I’m just reading into something that isn’t there, though.”
“So, what’s stopping you tonight? It’s just a few drinks, as you put it.”
Jo opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Whatwasstopping her? Fear? Hope? The realisation that maybe she wasn’t torn between two women at all, but just terrified of what it could mean to fall for the one she could actually see? “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I really don’t know.”
“Do it, Jo. Go along and enjoy yourself.”
Jo chewed her lip, aware of the butterflies unexpectedly fluttering around in her belly. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
Jo pausedat the entrance to Satin, thankful for just how discreet it was this evening. For some reason, she felt as though she was doing something terrible…something she shouldn’t be. She took a breath as she looked up at the buzzer to the side of the door. Amelia was inside, and Jo was just about ready to lose her mind, knowing she would likely be lounging there in a gorgeous dress, that red pendant sitting safely around her neck.
She may already be busy. You have to prepare yourself for that.
Jo didn’t want to imagine seeing Amelia with another woman. She didn’t want to imagine what Amelia was capable of at the club. If she could just pretend that Satin was nothing more than a generic bar this evening, she may just find the courage to step inside.
She hadn’t texted Amelia to say she was coming. She wasn’t even sure why. Maybe it was cowardice…maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was the hope that if she turned up unannounced, she could finally see what this place and Amelia looked like when she wasn’t expecting her.
Jo stepped inside, the familiar scent of expensive perfume wrapping around her immediately. It was a strange feeling to know that a simple scent could calm you in an instant. The woman at the desk greeted her with a soft smile and a nod of recognition. It wasn’t busy, but there were enough people lounging, drinking, and laughing in quiet corners to fill the space with a gentle buzz.
She didn’t know what she was looking for. Not really. Until she saw her.
Amelia.
Laid out on one of the wide, velvet-draped beds in the main lounge area, her long legs crossed at the ankle, a flute of champagne dangling from her fingers.
Wearing lace.
Lingerie. Black. Delicate.Unforgiving.
Jo’s heart lurched in her chest as though someone had just shoved her from behind. Amelia’s robe had slipped off to reveal the full line of her thigh, the curve of her waist, and the elegant dip of her collarbone. Her hair was loose tonight, cascading over one shoulder, and her smile—directed at the woman beside her—was lazy, warm, and so fucking dangerous.
Jo’s stomach flipped. She should leave. She should turn around and walk out the door before Amelia looked up. Before she saw her. Before she ruinedeverything. But Amelia’s gaze shifted and landed right on her.
Oh, God. This can’t be happening.
Time folded in on itself, and Jo’s feet refused to move. Her brain screamedgo, but her body was frozen, caught up in the gaze of a woman she hadneverseen like this before. Not Amelia the mother. Not Amelia the friend. Not even Amelia the flirt.
This was something else entirely.
Amelia held her gaze from across the room, something unreadable flickering in her expression. Then,so fucking slowly, she uncrossed her legs, murmured something to the woman beside her and sat upright, her robe now pooled around her.
Jo’s mouth ran dry when Amelia gestured for her to come closer. She didn’t know how or when her feet had started moving, but now she was walking one step at a time, until she was standing a few feet away from the bed where Amelia still sat, her bare thighs glowing gold in the soft light and her bodydevastatinglyunreal.
“Jo,” Amelia gazed up at her. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
Jo swallowed. “N-neither did I.”
A smile tugged at the corners of Amelia’s mouth. “You look a little surprised.”
“I-I—” Jo blinked repeatedly. “I’ve just never seen you like this.”
Amelia tilted her head. “Is that a bad thing?”
Jo didn’t answer because if she did, she would say something entirely inappropriate, and shehadto keep her wits about her tonight. Still, as she reminded herself of that, she refused to look away from the thin strip of lace crossing Amelia’s chest, or the flushed skin of her throat…or that sensual confidence in her posture.
Tonight, Amelia was something else. Something out of bounds. Something untouchable. And yet…Jowantedto touch. Witheverybreath in her body.
