Before Jo could respond, Amelia’s hand slid into her hair, her mouth on Jo’s in an instant. There was no hesitation this time. No ache of the past or a barrier of pain. Just raw, hungry need. Jo whimpered as her back hit the edge of the counter, and Amelia pressed into her with an urgency that made her knees tremble.
Jo’s fingers curled into Amelia’s hips, holding her close, her body buzzing with every drag of Amelia’s mouth…every flick of her tongue. She’d kissed this woman plenty of times now, but never like this. Never with the full knowledge of everything Amelia had survived. It made it all the more electrifying.
Amelia tugged gently at Jo’s hair, the kiss growing fiercer, deeper, until Jo was gasping against her lips and arching into her.
“Jesus,” Jo whispered. “What are you trying to do to me?”
“Ruin you…in all the best ways possible.”
Her thigh pressed between Jo’s legs, and she lost it, her fingers clawing at Amelia’s jumper to bring her even closer.
And then…the fucking oven timer beeped.
Jo groaned and lowered her head to Amelia’s shoulder. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Amelia regarded her with a wicked grin and nipped at Jo’s bottom lip. “Well, that makes the rest of the evening all the more interesting.”
“God, I fucking hate chicken.”
“Baby, relax,” Amelia said, pulling away just enough to let Jo breathe. Her voice was a near-whisper as she brought her mouth to Jo’s ear and said, “If it makes you feel better, I fully intend to make it up to you later after I’ve sat beside you knowingpreciselyhow wet you are.”
“Fucking hell.” Jo’s hands slid to Amelia’s waist as she steadied herself. “You know I want you, I’m dying to touch you, but are you sure you’re ready for that? After everything?—”
“I’m sure,” Amelia said, brushing her nose against Jo’s. “I don’t want to disappear into the past anymore. I want tonight. With you.”
Jo pressed her forehead to Amelia’s and lost herself in those gorgeous eyes. She didn’t care about dinner. She wasn’t even hungry for food anymore. Just hungry for everything else. “Yeah. Me too.” Jo quickly broke away and reached for an oven mitt, turning her back on Amelia. “Dinner first,” she said, knowing her cheeks were flushed. “Then you can ruin me.”
Amelia laughed and sauntered off towards the couch. She offered one final glance over her shoulder, sending a fresh wave of heat through Jo’s entire body.
Oh, you’d better be ready for her later.
Tonight, it seemed, was only just beginning.
Curledup on the couch after dinner, Jo’s blanket tucked over her bare legs, Amelia appreciated the comfortable silence they’d fallen into. For the first time in days, maybe even years, she wasn’t holding herself together with trembling hands. Something inside Amelia had eased, and that constant ache inher chest had dulled. Because Jo hadseenher. She’d listened, and she cared.
And now, she lay here watching Jo tidying up in the kitchen, her bare feet tiptoeing softly across the floor, humming something quiet under her breath as her hoodie hung loose off one shoulder. Her hair was up, but a few strands had already fallen down, framing her face in that effortless way Amelia had always loved.
God, she’s beautiful.
Jo looked over at her with a gorgeous smile. One Amelia hadn’t seen in days. “You okay over there?”
Amelia nodded. “Oh, I’m fine. I have an excellent view.”
For the first time in over twenty years, shewantedto be touched as Amelia. Not as Lia, not as the woman behind the curtain, and not as someone hiding in a version of herself she’d created to survive.
No more hiding.
No more lies.
Just the unfiltered truth of who she was.
“I’ve been thinking,” Jo said as she crossed the room, her hand brushing Amelia’s bare shoulder as she rounded the back of the couch. “Why don’t you head back to your place tomorrow and get some things, then come back here and we’ll just take it easy until that dickhead has left the town again.”
That dickhead. Amelia laughed and pulled Jo into her lap the moment she landed in front of her. “You don’t have to hate him for my sake, Jo.”
“I already hated him. I just hate him more now.” Jo stroked her fingertips against the back of Amelia’s neck, sending a shiver down her spine. “How do you feel about him knowing about us?”
That was once a question that terrified Amelia, but now…not so much. “I don’t think it matters what I do moving forward. Myrelationship with Callum is strained, it’ll likely get worse, and there is nothing I can do about that.”
