A surge of pleasure flooded through Mara. And another, cresting slow, slow, slowly. She gasped at the end, having to rip her mouth away. Kirby kept kissing her.
Her neck, her jaw, her ear.
“I should lose more often,” Mara whispered.
Kirby laughed against her skin. “If you let me do this every time you lose, I’ll have to agree.”
“Your turn,” Mara said. She went to sit up. To dosomethingto make Kirby feel good. Anything.
“No, it’s okay. Take a minute to recover, Mara. We have time.”
But theydidn’thave time. Their whole life was a race. Three days to Kirby’s next event. Five to Mara’s. Fifteen to the fifty-k. It felt like forever and also not nearly enough time.
Plus, Lindsey could open that door at any second, and that was a risk they both should have been worried about.
But Marawasexhausted. Every reserve of energy in her body had been expended during the skiathlon. Which she’d lost spectacularly.
Mara didn’t want to face that.
“Will you just talk? Distract me, but I don’t… I don’t know.”
“You don’t want to talk back?”
“I want to listen to you.”
Kirby cupped her cheek, and they stared at each other.
It was too much. Mara closed her eyes, blocking everything out except Kirby’s skin against hers. And Kirby’s voice as she started talking.
She talked about skiing gossip, and random reality stars she knew, and the things she’d seen in the stands that day. Lots of things Mara didn’t give a crap about. And Mara let Kirby’s voicewash over her until her aching muscles relaxed, and she fell asleep.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out, but when the room came back into focus, Kirby was humming off-key and braiding small sections of Mara’s hair.
Mara tried not to move because she didn’t want Kirby to stop, but Kirby seemed to be a thousand miles away. She had earphones in. Her mouth was soft. She looked younger. Innocent.
When Kirby noticed Mara was awake, she put her earphones away.
“What were you listening to?” Mara asked.
“Sad girl pop.”
“Don’t be sad.” Mara kissed her chin. Kirby’s arms tightened, and a hand delved deep into Mara’s hair, tipping her head back.
Mara’s body zipped fully awake, and she moaned. Kirby glanced at her, surprise clear on her face.
“What?” Mara asked.
“That’s the loudest sound I’ve heard you make.”
“Oh.”
“You like it when I pull your hair.”
During any of their other times together, Mara would have rolled her eyes or saidduh. But her brain felt too fuzzy to play. To fight.
“Do you like it rough, Mara May?” Kirby asked. It sounded as much like a genuine question as it did dirty talk.
“When you do it, yes,” she said. Which was way, way too revealing.
