Vivian hid her smirk in Bryn’s kiss. “Mmhmm,” she agreed before kissing a searing line down Bryn’s neck.
Running her palms over Vivian’s back and down to her waist, she pulled her closer. She was somehow never close enough. Naked and on top of her, but somehow still out of reach.
“We should eat something,” Bryn said, but not as forcefully as she meant to.
Vivian smiled while she kissed her way down Bryn’s body. She looked up at her before running her tongue along Bryn’s inner thigh. “Oh, I intend to,” she promised.
Other desires forgotten, Bryn closed her eyes and melted into the heat of Vivian’s mouth.
ChapterTwenty-Seven
It had beena long time since Vivian felt free in her own body. Since she felt like the wielder of her own sexuality rather than a target. But every moment with Bryn was a revelation. One that she’d sacrifice all other needs for. She’d already gone without sleep, and she couldn’t remember the last time they’d consumed anything other than water or coffee.
And yet, she felt more nourished than she had in her entire life. Exhausted and sore and brimming with Bryn. She’d had every intention to grab something at the noodle place Bryn mentioned.
They might have even made it out of the hotel if Bryn hadn’t come with her to shower and change. If she hadn’t brought her things so they could shower together before heading out. In retrospect, having been too weak to endure being apart from Bryn for half an hour set them up for failure.
After room service in Vivian’s suite, they should’ve said goodnight. But Bryn’s lips were addictive and her body a snare she couldn’t make herself want to escape. Vivian had lost control of herself. She couldn’t stop pulling Bryn in closer. Couldn’t stop touching her and kissing her and relishing in the sensation of her body wrapped around hers.
Entwined in Bryn, the world didn’t exist. Or maybe it made sense. There were no intrusive thoughts. No crushing weights. No burdens. Just a kind of euphoria she didn’t know was possible without mind-altering substances.
However, if anyone told her that Bryn descended from some Swedish forest spirit and her mere presence could intoxicate, she’d believe it. Never had Vivian encountered anyone like her.
She was so smart and funny and disarming. Sometimes it was like she had insider knowledge on how Vivian had built her defenses just so she could get under them. Not to harm, but to heal.
Bryn had a ferocious joy that permeated her person. Joy that shone in her eyes and spread through her grin and left an iridescent shimmer on everything she touched. On everyone. Even when it was almost too much, when it grabbed Vivian by the throat and held her terrifyingly still, she couldn’t look away.
“I think I lied,” Bryn confessed and rolled onto her back so they were both looking up at the ceiling.
The suite was dark except for the slice of city light spilling through curtains that hadn’t quite met in the middle. Vivian had been hasty when she flung them closed, more concerned with getting Bryn back in her bed than worrying about creeps with telescopes.
“What?” Vivian belatedly registered what she said, hazy brain sputtering back online. “Lied?” Her stomach knotted, chest tight but somehow comforted that Bryn wasn’t a mythical creature. She was a disappointing human, just like everyone else. “About what?”
Bryn turned back to her side, hooking one leg around Vivian. “Well…” She took a big, dramatic breath. “I don’t think I just want to be your friend.”
Despite herself, Vivian chuckled. “No?” She turned to face her. “But you’re so cool and you love lines,” she parroted the words back to her.
“I’ve never lain naked to someone platonically before,” Bryn chuckled, and Vivian’s stomach clenched. She didn’t want to ruin their magic with reality. Not right now. Not when their trip was almost over. “These waters are uncharted?—”
“Well… I, for one, have a newfound appreciation for lines,” Vivian said, fingers brushing Bryn’s hair back and away from her face. “I like the line of your jaw.” She traced it with her fingertips and Bryn’s eyes fluttered closed. “The line of your clavicle.” She traced the path from Bryn’s throat to her shoulder with her blunt nails and then her lips. Bryn melted against her touch. “The line of your ribs.” She grazed Bryn’s breast before running her thumb over her side, earning a soft sigh.
Once she’d started, Vivian couldn’t stop. She drank Bryn’s body like she’d never tasted her before. Vivian drowned her fear that she’d never get enough in Bryn’s lips. She kissed her long and deep and completely.
Each swipe of her tongue only made her burn for another. Each tug of Bryn’s bottom lip made her want to bite harder. Every touch, every breath, every moan only made her desperate for the next.
Vivian was parched, and Bryn had the allure of pristine seawater. The more she drank, the thirstier she became. Every drop only made her crave more of the exact thing that would destroy her.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.” Bryn’s hands were down her back and her body was so pliant beneath hers. So ready to give and give.
But Vivian didn’t know how to be like Bryn. Didn’t know how to just admit she was nervous over dinner. How to translate all the chaos in her hammering heart.
“What I’m thinking?” Vivian kissed Bryn’s lips, her cheek, her jaw. She muttered against the shell of her ear, “I’m wishing I’d packed a strap.” It was true, she’d thought it when they were in the shower.
“Oh?” Bryn chuckled in open surprise. “Is that so?” Her tone slipped into the Kelly Craves persona, and Vivian stopped holding her breath—lungs mercifully relieved. “What would you do if you’d brought one?” She clasped the hand Vivian had left resting on her side. “Use it on me? Or bend over and take it like a good girl?” Her grin was diabolical and beaming with confidence that she’d set off a seismic rush of desire pounding through Vivian’s body.
“I’ve never been much of a passenger princess,” Vivian joked, unsure of what language to use.
Bryn’s ocean eyes were incandescent, even in the low light. They were brighter than the skyscrapers, than the moon, than the sun that was only hours away from intruding.
