Then she imagined Vivian only pretending to sleep and somehow watching her yank out entire clumps of hair. She gave up. There was nothing romantic about a woman detangling her hair.
For the second time in two minutes, Sienna glanced at Vivian again. This time, however, there was a dangerous, fleeting moment where she considered trailing a finger down Vivian’s sunlit spine. Just once. Just to see if it was real. Just to make sure she wasn’t actually hallucinating. But then Vivian stirred, and before Sienna could turn onto her side and act like she’d just woken up, Vivian rolled onto her back.
“Morning,” she said, her voice rough and thick in a way that made Sienna’s brain forget complete sentences. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine,” Sienna said. “Good. Can’t complain.” The truth was Sienna had slept like the dead. She hadn’t even had a single dream, which was a first for her. One moment Vivian had kissed her softly on the temple, and the next the bright morning light was stabbing her eyes. “How about you?”
“Same,” Vivian said, rubbing a finger under each eye as if she were trying to wipe away exhaustion, but there were no shadows there, just flawless skin. “Though I think we probably shouldn’t have fallen asleep. I can’t imagine it’s going to be easy sneaking you out of here.” If Vivian was worried about getting caught, she didn’t show it. Which should’ve given Sienna some solace, but then again Vivian often resembled a Greek statue who had just stepped off her pedestal.
“I think our best bet is for you to go out first,” Sienna said, pressing her palms into the mattress until she was sitting a little more upright. The sheet slipped down and caught just above her breasts. For a flicker of a second, Vivian’s gaze dropped to her chest, and Sienna considered letting go of the sheet altogether.They could probably fit in a quickie before she had to run off. The thought was so enticing she felt a hum between her hips.
But no. Sienna really did have to go. Even though she didn’t want to. Even though she’d rather stay here and have Vivian wrap her arms around her. Even though they should probably talk about what was going to happen next.
“Where would I go?” Vivian asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Sienna blinked herself back into the room and said, “Just far enough for you to check if the coast is clear and send me a signal.”
“You mean like whistle from the bushes?” Vivian asked. “Or squawk like a bird? I can do both if you want. Or maybe a secret drumbeat on the nearest tree. Or better yet, I’ll stomp my feet as hard as I can… whatever you think will work best.”
“You’re making fun of me.”
Vivian laughed, and before Sienna could respond, Vivian’s hand found her wrist and tugged her closer. The kiss that followed was a culmination of last night, of every longing stare, and every touch. It was ridiculous and perfect all at once. Vivian’s lips didn’t just press against Sienna’s mouth; she also nipped with her teeth and tasted with her tongue. All the while Sienna’s fingers tangled in Vivian’s short hair.
The seconds rolled on. Outside, the sun was rising, spilling heat into the room. But every time they tried to pull back for air, they failed miserably and laughed into each other’s mouths instead. Sienna cupped Vivian’s breast and decided that she could easily do this forever.
“Vivian!”
Each and every molecule in Sienna’s body froze.
“Are you up yet?” Elise called, her voice invading the villa like a wildfire. “I know it’s early. Well, not that early. Look. I need to talk to you.”
Vivian shot out of bed so fast that Sienna felt the impact of it on her hips. “Shit,” she hissed, grabbing for the sheet that was left behind. “You need to—” She made a vague, panicked gesture toward the bathroom. “Hide.”
Sienna, who had scrambled out of bed almost as quickly and had half tripped over the rug, her hands flying to cover herself, mouthed, “There’s no place to hide in there.”
Vivian seemed to know this already. Her eyes flicked to the small library, where a green futon stretched in front of the shelves. Sienna considered diving behind it, not that it would give enough coverage, unless, of course, she could climb out of one of the windows. Now wouldn’t that be a sight. But then another knock rattled the door.
“Are you decent?” Elise called.
Nothing about this situation was decent. In fact, it wassooooindecent, Sienna was sure she would be fired over this if Elise found out. Which apparently wasn’t far off. Before Vivian could answer, the door swung open, and Elise walked in.
Sienna had no time to wonder why the door was unlocked in the first place. Surely they’d locked it last night, or had Vivian gotten distracted when Sienna had just marched in uninvited and climbed naked into the bathtub. Her body kicked into gear, and she crouched behind a nightstand. Which, unfortunately, was not nearly as wide as she’d hoped.
Elise’s eyes landed on them. Well, first on Vivian, who had the sheet half wrapped around herself. And then on Sienna, who couldn’t make herself smaller even if she tried.
“What in—” Elise started, her voice as calm as a watering hole at noon. But that didn’t last nearly as long as Sienna had hoped. A crimson blush crept up her neck, her cheeks puffed, her hands, which hung stiffly by her sides, curled into fists so tight her knuckles turned white.
“THE FUCK!” she screamed.
Sienna flinched. She wanted to say something—anything—to make this better, but frankly, nothing could ever come close to fixing this. Not that either of them would even get a chance to try. Elise was already pacing, muttering to herself. Then not muttering at all. Her voice grew louder, shriller by the second. “Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me? I can’t believe this is happening. Again. AGAIN! What is this, some prank? Am I cursed? I must be cursed. Because this level of betrayal, this humiliation, it’s beyond what any person should ever have to endure!”
“Elise—” Vivian started.
But Elise spun around so fast her curls snapped like a whip. “Don’t.” She jabbed a finger at Vivian. “YOU. Of all people. YOU know we have a damn script to follow. You should know how bad this looks. For fuck’s sake, Vivian. Do you ever think before you act? Or are you just so used to doing whatever the hell you want and letting the rest of us clean up the mess?”
“It’s not—” Vivian tried again, her voice cracking.
“Don’t,” Elise barked, slicing her hand through the air. “Don’t you dare say this isn’t what it looks like, because honey, it’s pretty fucking obvious what it looks like.”
