“I should’ve let her kiss me,” Sienna finished, her voice dropping to almost a whisper. “But I didn’t want to. Because…” her words trailed off again.
The way she looked at Vivian made her knees feel weak, which was probably the corniest line ever, but it was true. Truer than true. Vivian’s knees were threatening to give out.
“Sienna—” Vivian started.
But Sienna interrupted her. “I wanted to kiss you.”
It was four simple words that, when put together, landed like a small explosion. With tons of casualties. Or maybe just one. Vivian was gravely injured. But not that close to death just yet to lie still and do nothing. No. She had one last push in her.
While the cicadas seemed to hold their breath, Vivian stepped forward. Her fingers found the edge of Sienna’s jaw and, almost on instinct, traced the delicate line there. “This is…,” she started, but she didn’t have time to add how kissing Siennawould be the worst idea out there, because Sienna’s eyes flicked down to her mouth and that was it. The last thread of Vivian’s restraint snapped.
Vivian didn’t just close the gap between them; she collided with Sienna. Her lips crushed hers. Her tongue slid into Sienna’s mouth, and her fingers tangled in Sienna’s hair. She couldn’t get close enough. At least not with their clothes on. But then she realized they were standing on the main lodge deck. They were visible to anyone who couldn’t sleep and felt the need to take a midnight stroll. She knew they had to go somewhere else.
“Come on. Let’s go to my villa,” Vivian said, finding Sienna’s hand. “Before anyone sees us.”
Sienna nodded, and together they rushed down the steps, tiptoeing as quietly as they possibly could. Vivian prayed there weren’t any cameras directed to the deck, but then again, of course, there would be. This was a five-star lodge. There was bound to be proper security. Her prayer shifted to hoping no one ever bothered checking the footage. She wouldn’t just get into trouble for this. She’d get fired. Which should’ve made her rethink all of this, yank her hand back, and tell Sienna never to look at her again.
But it seemed Vivian wasn’t thinking at all.
They reached the villa quickly and practically tripped over each other as they shut the door behind them. Vivian pressed Sienna against it and braced her hands on either side of Sienna’s face. “What we’re doing is wrong,” she said, her mouth so close to Sienna’s she could feel her own breath rebounding.
“I know,” Sienna whispered.
“It’s not fair to any of the contestants.”
“I know.”
“They all came here to meet you. To fall in love with you.” Vivian’s voice was softer now, pleading, like she hoped Sienna would see reason and stop this before it went too far.
But then also, she didn’t want that.
Sienna bit her bottom lip, and Vivian’s eyes caught the movement. Fuck. She wanted to kiss her so badly she could feel her own pulse in her temples. Her hands itched to move, to slide into Sienna’s hair, to tilt her head just so and bridge that tiny gap between them that felt so impossibly small and terrifyingly huge all at once.
“I want you to kiss me,” Sienna whispered.
“Are you sure?” Vivian asked.
“Yes,” Sienna breathed, which was more than enough for Vivian.
She leaned in. Slow enough for Sienna to let out a little desperate moan. Fast enough for Vivian to feel a charge crackling in the air. Then she kissed Sienna hard on the mouth as her hands fell down to Sienna’s waist. Vivian spun them both around and moved toward the bed. Once they reached it, she pushed Sienna onto the mattress, and her fingers immediately went for the buttons of Sienna’s faded blue jeans. She didn’t waste time.
Neither of them did. Their clothes were off in seconds.
Then Vivian slid onto the bed between Sienna’s legs until she was lying on top of her, until they were face to face, breast to breast, hips over hips. She moaned at first contact. The feel of Sienna’s body beneath hers was hard to explain. Smooth and silky and perfectly warm in the air-conditioned room, but also like falling onto a hotel bed that was just the right amount of soft after a hard day’s work.
“You’re gorgeous—” Sienna started. “Like in a god clearly has favorites kind of way.”
Vivian laughed and cut her off with a kiss. For a while that was all they did. In fact, Vivian didn’t want to stop kissing her. She couldn’t imagine her tongue not being in Sienna’s mouth. But at the same time, she had other plans that required her tongue. Plans that could only be put into action if she detached her mouth from Sienna’s.
Which she did.
Vivian broke the kiss and instead planted one on Sienna’s neck. Then she inched down until she reached Sienna’s breasts. She took one nipple in her mouth and rolled it with her tongue. Then she moved over to her other nipple and nibbled it with her teeth. She did this over and over again mostly because Sienna’s body was reacting in a way that had Vivian smiling. Sienna was shaking, like an earthquake. Her hips were pressing upward, and her moans were coming out fast like bullets.
“Not so loud,” Vivian said, not because she was scared of someone overhearing, but because she knew exactly what being told to keep quiet did to a person.
Sienna clamped her lips shut and tipped her head back into the pillow just as Vivian moved further down. This time, Vivian made her way all the way to the edge of the bed before starting upward. First she kissed Sienna’s calves. Her skin smelled of sunscreen and coconut. Then she tongued Sienna’s right inner knee. Then left. When Vivian reached her thighs, she bit down on the soft flesh, hard enough to leave a bite mark, and waited for Sienna to squirm.
“Fuck,” Sienna whispered. Her hands were in fists. She clung to the sheets like she wanted to rip them apart. “You’re really embracing wild Africa.”
