“Prove it.”
Maggie closed the distance between them and kissed her.
Evie felt Maggie’s hand slide into her hair, gentle but possessive, and she leaned into it. Her own hands found Maggie’s waist, pulling her closer until there was no space left between them.
When they broke apart, both breathing hard, Maggie rested her forehead against Evie’s.
“I missed you,” Maggie whispered. “So fucking much.”
“I missed you too,” Evie said. “Even when I was furious at you. Even when I wanted to never see you again. I still missed you.”
“I’m sorry I made you feel like you weren’t enough,” Maggie said, and Evie heard the thickness in her voice. “You’re everything.”
Evie pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “Show me.”
Maggie’s breath caught. “Evie?—”
“Show me you mean it,” Evie said. “Not carefully. Not with one foot out the door. Show me you’re all in.”
Something shifted in Maggie’s expression—fear giving way to want, control giving way to need.
“I can do that,” Maggie said, standing and offering her hand.
Evie took it.
Maggie led her down a short hallway to a bedroom that was as carefully curated as the rest of the apartment—crisp white linens, minimal furniture, everything in its place. But when Maggie turned to face her, there was nothing controlled about the way she looked at Evie.
“I want to do this right,” Maggie said.
Evie stepped closer, hands sliding up Maggie’s arms. “There is no right. There’s just us.”
“I want you to know—” Maggie started, but Evie cut her off with a kiss.
“Stop thinking, stop talking,” Evie murmured against her mouth. “Just feel.”
This time when they kissed, Evie felt Maggie let go of something—some last piece of restraint she’d been holding onto. Maggie’s hands became bolder, slipping under the hem of Evie’s henley, fingers splaying across warm skin.
Evie gasped at the contact, arching into it.
She saw the moment Maggie truly heard her—the moment she stopped being Doctor Laurel, controlled and careful, and became just Maggie, raw and wanting and present.
They undressed each other slowly, not because they were hesitant but because they wanted to remember this. Evie lifted Maggie’s sweater over her head, pressing kisses to newly exposed skin. Maggie’s fingers trembled slightly as she unbuttoned Evie’s jeans, and Evie covered her hands with her own.
“I want you so fucking much,” Maggie breathed.
“Then have me,” Evie said simply.
They moved to the bed, Maggie guiding Evie back against the pillows with a gentleness that made Evie’s chest ache. When Maggie settled beside her, propped on one elbow, she traced patterns across Evie’s skin with her fingertips—learning, memorizing.
“You’re so gorgeous,” Maggie said, and there was wonder in her voice.
“So are you,” Evie replied, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind Maggie’s ear. “And you’re allowed to have this. To have me. To let yourself feel good.”
Evie pulled her down into a kiss that deepened quickly, all lingering hesitation burning away in the heat between them. Maggie’s weight settled over her, solid and grounding, and Evie wrapped her legs around her hips, pulling her closer.
Maggie’s hands mapped her body with confidence, finding all the places that made Evie gasp, made her arch, made her grip Maggie’s shoulders and whisper her name like a prayer. When Maggie’s mouth followed the path her hands had traced, Evie stopped thinking entirely.
“Tell me what you need,” Maggie said, looking up at her from between her breasts, eyes dark with want.
