“A one-night stand,” Ruby said, testing the words. They tasted bitter on her tongue.
“Yes.” Celeste took a step closer, and Ruby could smell her perfume and see the pulse fluttering in her throat. “If that's something you'd want.”
Want. What a pathetically small word for the need clawing through Ruby's veins. For the way her entire body was screaming yes even as her heart was breaking.
“Is Evangeline your type?”
“What?” Ruby wasn’t sure she’d heard right.
“The woman downstairs who couldn't stop touching your arm.” Celeste's cheeks were flushed and her voice tight. “Is that the kind of woman you usually go for?”
You're my type,Ruby thought desperately.You with your sharp mind and composure and the way you're looking at me right now like I'm the only thing in the world that matters. You're exactly my type, and that's the problem.
But she couldn't say that. Not when Celeste had just drawn such clear lines around what this could be and saying it out loud would only make the inevitable ending hurt more.
“Are you jealous?” She asked instead, moving closer. Close enough to touch, though she didn't. Not yet.
Celeste lifted her chin, that defensive gesture Ruby was starting to recognize. “Yes.”
The admission sent heat pooling low in Ruby's stomach. At least there was this. Celeste wanted her enough to be jealous, even if she couldn't want her enough to be brave.
“Good.” Ruby drew nearer. “Just so we're clear, I don't want Evangeline. I don't want anyone tonight but you.”
Celeste's breath shuddered out, her hands coming up to grip Ruby's shoulders. “Ruby—”
“One night,” Ruby said, the words catching in her throat. “No promises or expectations. Just this.”
She kissed Celeste before either of them could change their minds. Before her breaking heart could convince her mouth to tell the truth.
Even as she said it, she knew it was a lie. There was no way one night would be enough. But she'd take what she could get and deal with the consequences later.
When Celeste kissed her back with matching fierceness and hunger, she stopped thinking altogether.
They stumbled back toward the bed, fumbling frantically. Ruby kneaded and caressed the smooth skin, feeling each crease and every texture. Each inch of exposed skin felt like a revelation, something sacred being unveiled.
Celeste's hands were equally busy, pushing Ruby's jacket off her shoulders, tugging her shirt over her head. Her touch was almost reverent, as if she couldn't quite believe this was real.
Ruby knew the feeling.
“Tell me what you want,” she murmured. Her mouth brushed against Celeste’s neck, eliciting a squeal of pleasure.
“You. Just you.”
Ruby pushed Celeste down onto the mattress, before settling between her thighs. Celeste's hands tangled in her hair, pulling her into another kiss that was all teeth and desperation and want so fierce it threatened to consume them both.
“I should tell you,” she gasped as Ruby's mouth moved to her collarbone, “I'm not very experienced at this.”
Ruby lifted her head, meeting her eyes. “At sex with women?”
“At sex in general.” Celeste's flush deepened, spreading down her neck to her chest. “Braden and I never—and beforethat, there were only a few women in college. It wasn't—I never really—”
“Hey.” Ruby cupped her face gently, needing Celeste to understand this. “We'll go slow. And if you want to stop at any point—”
“I don't want to stop.” Celeste's voice was steady, her eyes blazing. “I want this. I want you.”
The honesty in her eyes nearly undid Ruby completely. She kissed Celeste again, pouring everything she couldn't say into the pressure of their lips.
She kissed her way down Celeste's body, taking her time, learning the landscape of her. This was important. Ruby needed to memorize every detail, needed to brand this into her memory because it was all she'd have when morning came.
