Remy stirs, blinking awake. He watches us for a moment, a slow, sleepy smile spreading across his face. He doesn’t speak. He just leans in and captures my mouth in a deep, unhurried kiss, his hand coming up to cradle my jaw. My toes curl as I press back, which pushes my breast more fully into Erik’s hand. Erik’s touch steadies behind me, his other hand sliding under my shirt to find bare skin.
Remy breaks the kiss, his eyes searching mine. He sees the question there. The hesitation. He begins to move lower, unhurried, deliberate. I know where he’s going. I agreed to this, but knowing and feeling are not the same thing.
My nerves flare. No one has ever done this. What if I’m too wet? What if I taste strange? My legs start to close.
Erik’s mouth returns to my ear. “Breathe, Tianna,” he whispers. “Just feel. We’re right here.”
His hand tightens slightly on my breast. Grounding. Present.
Remy pauses at the waistband of my shorts, his eyes lifted to mine from across my body. He’s asking. Giving me the choice without words.
And I don’t want to stop.
I take a deep, shuddering breath and give a small nod.
That’s enough.
He eases my shorts down my hips. Erik never leaves my neck, his hands steady and reverent. When Remy’s mouth finds me, the sensation pulls a cry from my throat. My back arches. It’s overwhelming, sharp and bright, and for the first time my thoughts go quiet.
I stop wondering and let myself enjoy.
Remy is gentle and intent, learning me, following every reaction. When he adds a finger, my hips lift without my permission. Erik’s hands stay with me, anchoring me, keeping me here.
Being the focus is dizzying.
The pressure builds low and tight. Remy’s fingers find a rhythm that makes my vision blur, and when release comes, it takes me with it. I shake, breath breaking, tears slipping free without warning.
For a moment, there is only breathing.
Remy presses a kiss to my thigh before moving back beside me. Erik gathers me close from behind, his arms firm and sure.
“Thank you,” I whisper, hoarse. “That was… wow.”
Remy smiles and brushes a thumb beneath my eye. “Anytime.”
Normalcy returns gently. Remy stretches. “I’m starving. I’ll make breakfast.” He kisses me once more and slips out of bed.
Erik nuzzles my neck. “I’ll take the Notes out,” he says quietly.
I lie there for a moment, wrapped in the lingering warmth of them both, and realize that for the first time in a long while, I don’t feel fractured.
I get up and head for the shower, ready to start the day.
Chapter one hundred nine
Christianna
As I head downstairs, I pass Erik on his way back up. He brushes a kiss across my lips without breaking stride.
In the kitchen, the Notes are already eating. Remy stands at the stove in nothing but boxers, barefoot, a dish towel slung over his shoulder. My mouth actually waters.
I’m not sure how I went from living like a nun to this, but the thought crosses my mind, uninvited and vivid. I want to lick him.
He turns, catches me staring, and his lips curve, white teeth flashing against dark skin. “Ham and cheese omelet with avocado okay?”
I nod dumbly and move to set the island.
He passes me a mug. I take a grateful sip of coffee.
