“No,” Angelica disagreed. “No, you shouldn’t have. You did what you thought was best, Hope, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If we’d been together then, if we hadn’t gone through what we did, then we wouldn’t be where we are today. You have to know that.”
“I do.” Hope wrinkled her nose. “But it was still brutal.”
“I won’t disagree with you there.” Angelica moved up and kissed her again. “We took our time to get where we are, but I think we’ve finally found our place.”
“Yes, we have.” Hope bent down and kissed her, sliding the tip of her tongue along the edge of Angelica’s full lower lip.
Angelica closed her eyes, focusing on the touch. Time. They’d take all the time they had with each other tonight. She waited as Hope repeated the move before she slid in and pressed their lips together. Angelica opened her mouth and breathed with Hope, tightening her grasp on Hope’s sides as she held on with everything she had.
Angelica waited with pleasure coursing through her to see exactly what Hope would do next. And she wasn’t disappointed. Hope lifted up on her elbow and trailed her fingers across Angelica’s forehead to move her hair out of her face, and then she gently cascaded them over her nose and lips to the top of her chest.
Trembles started in Angelica’s knees, her breathing picking up instantly. Fuck, she loved being touched by this woman. She loved this woman with everything she had, and she never wanted to be without her again. Not like they were before. Angelica’s lips parted on a breath as Hope trailed her fingers over each breast, circling each nipple until they pebbled. But she didn’t touch them.
Angelica groaned at the lack of sensation, and Hope’s lips quirked up in a knowing smirk. But she didn’t say anything. It was as if all false bravado and teasing had been left at the door, and they were only here to give their purest selves to each other. Angelica reached up to thread her fingers in Hope’s hair and pull her back down for another languid embrace.
Hope shifted again, and Angelica struggled to stay touching her. She didn’t want to let go. But Hope moved her hand downward, across Angelica’s stomach to right between her legs. In an instant, the kiss was forgotten and she was gasping for breath. Her eyes were wide open as she stared up into Hope’s crystalline eyes, feeling nothing other than the way Hope’s fingers played against her clit, teasing her entire body into submission.
“God, I love you,” Angelica murmured, her lips curling up into a smile that she never wanted to lose. Everything about tonight was perfect. It had nothing to do with the flowers or the candles or the fact that Angelica was even surprised by the entire seduction.
The raw honesty between them pulled Angelica in even closer to Hope’s inner circle, seeing that deep caring streak that she would never give up or push to the side. It had always been there, and Angelica had always admired it. She just wasn’t used to it being focused entirely on her. Gasping again, Angelica arched her back. She reached up to grab onto Hope’s arm as Hope’s thumb slid across her clit again.
“That feels amazing,” Angelica whispered. “Don’t stop.”
“Not planning on it,” Hope murmured back, planting kiss after kiss against Angelica’s cheek and chin, down her chest. She bent her head, covering Angelica’s breast and finally teasing her nipple with her tongue. Angelica closed her eyes, letting every single sensation that touched her skin float through her body. And she stayed there on the plain of existence that consisted of only touches and kisses and love.
Parting her legs even wider, Angelica gave Hope as much access to her body as possible. She gripped onto her, holding her firmly. Her heart raced.
“I’m never going to let you go again,” Hope whispered into her ear, hot breath causing ripples against Angelica’s skin. “I love you too much.”
Angelica pulled Hope in for another kiss, twining their tongues together. She was so close to orgasming, but she couldn’t let another second pass without telling Hope. “I love you.”
She cried out, not loudly, but enough that Hope would understand. And instead of saying anything, Hope just cradled her tightly, slowing the pace of her fingers against her clit, and pressing sweet kisses to Angelica’s skin. When she finally didn’t feel like she was out of breath, Angelica relaxed into the bed and laughed lightly.
“I do regret drinking too much the other night.” Angelica brushed her fingers over Hope’s lips again. “We should have done this then.”
“It’s only made tonight that much tastier.”
Angelica laughed and closed her eyes. She pointed her toes and stretched the muscles in her legs and hips. Her body was so tired, and while she could find energy for this, she was going to need to take a good long break when they got back, and she’d actually need to take time to rest. When she’d pulled herselftogether enough, she planted her foot and rolled them so that Hope was underneath her.
When Hope pouted, Angelica bent down and kissed her quickly. “It’s only fair.”
Hope sighed, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she brushed her fingers through Angelica’s hair and pushed it to the side so that she could still see her face. Angelica pressed a kiss right in the center of Hope’s chest. Hope’s heart thundered under her lips, pounding against her chest as if it beat only for her. Angelica moved down slightly and kissed her again.
“Angel…” Hope murmured her name.
Angelica waited for something else to come, a request, a whine, a whimper—but she heard nothing but her name again.
“Angel…”
She plucked a few of the rose petals off Hope’s body and tossed them to the side, wanting to have full rein over Hope’s skin just for herself. She ran her hands up and down Hope’s abdomen, covering her breasts and teasing her nipples. Hope breathed heavily, lifting up with her hips a little before settling back down and staring directly at Angelica.
“You’re so good with your mouth, why don’t you use it?” Hope said.
“Oh, I was planning on it,” Angelica answered. “You do keep trying to tell me I need to eat more.”
Hope’s laugh echoed through the room, and it moved directly into Angelica’s soul, bolstering it. She’d needed that, to hear the joy, the simplicity, to feel the string that wove their two lives together into one—interdependent. It was honestly exactly what Angelica had always wanted and never dreamed she could have. Finding it with Hope had been such a surprise.
Angelica moved down Hope’s body, placing kisses wherever she wanted. Right on Hope’s belly button, on the stretch mark that was clearly there from when she was pregnant with Eva, onher hip bones that fanned outward into the stunning hips that Angelica loved to watch, to the freckles on the tops of her thighs. She savored every inch of skin she kissed, sliding her tongue out to taste every chance she got.
