“My goodness, Martina…” Rebeca murmurs. “All this time, believing that you…” She shakes her head. “Well… in the end, the publisher got what they wanted, didn’t they? The scandal attracted enormous media attention, and when people found out we were translating that book, preorders skyrocketed. And the personal consequences were buried under the commercial success.”
Silence settles between them once more, with the food untouched on the table, slowly growing cold.
“Deep down,” Rebeca says, looking up, “I’m glad I left them behind. Because I’ve managed to build a wonderful career, far from all that pressure. The only thing I regret is having lost the chance to be together.”
Martina watches her. For a second, neither of them moves. Martina’s heart beats strongly, and then Rebeca smiles. A calm, slow smile that lights up her eyes and softens the lines of fatigue still etched on her face.
“Maybe,” Rebeca replies, reaching out to gently stroke her neck. “But Julia is right about something she told me this morning.”
Martina raises her eyebrows slightly, curious.
“About what?”
Rebeca looks her straight in the eye, leaning forward slightly.
“Fate has given us a second chance,” Rebeca says. “And this time I don’t plan to waste it out of pride, or fear, or anything.”
The words echo softly in the living room. Martina feels her heart racing again; a familiar warmth rises through her chest and spreads to her cheeks. For a few seconds, as they look at each other, the world seems to shrink to the minimal distance between their bodies, to the way Rebeca’s eyes trace her face as if they want to memorize every little detail.
And when they kiss, Martina feels Rebeca’s lips—soft and warm, with a faint taste of beer. Martina closes her eyes and lets herself go, timidly raising a hand to the nape of Rebeca’s neck, tangling her fingers in her hair. The contact is sweet and urgent at the same time—that collision of years spent repressing a desire that explodes between them with an intensity that leaves them breathless.
“Martina…” Rebeca whispers against her lips. “I don’t want to lose you again.”
Martina smiles and brushes her thumb against Rebeca’s cheek.
“Then don’t let go of me,” she replies in a whisper. “Because I won’t let go of you either. Never again.”
Chapter 26
When Martina opens her eyes, the morning light filters timidly through the curtains in Rebeca’s bedroom. Rebeca’s body lies pressed against hers, naked and warm, with one leg slightly tangled between hers and her arm draped across her waist in a possessive gesture that feels natural, inevitable. Martina lies still for a moment, letting her consciousness return slowly, only to feel desire awaken with it, slow but relentless, a heat that rises from her lower abdomen and spreads to her fingertips.
Rebeca stirs, a soft sigh escaping her parted lips and her eyelashes fluttering before she opens her eyes. Their eyes meet in the dim light, and in that gaze there is no surprise, only recognition, a spark that ignites as quickly as their eyes meet. Martina feels her pulse quicken, her skin prickle beneath the light weight of Rebeca’s arm.
Rebeca slides her hand along the curve of her hip with deliberate slowness, and her fingers trace an invisible path that awakens every nerve ending in their wake. She leans toward her without haste, first brushing her lips against her collarbone, a light kiss that turns into a gentle nibble, and Martina arches her back instinctively, offering herself without words. Rebeca’s body is a map she knows perfectly and yet feels like her own.
“Martina…” Rebeca whispers, making it clear just how much she needs her.
Martina responds by tangling her fingers in Rebeca’s hair, pulling gently to draw her to her mouth. The kiss then explodes, and their bodies entwine with greater intensity. Martina feels her own sex grow wet, a heat spreading between her thighs, and the awareness of that immediate, visceral response fills her with an almost ferocious euphoria.
Rebeca lowers her head with a slowness that feels torturous, kissing the valley between her breasts, pausing at a nipple that has already hardened under her breath. She takes it between her lips, sucking with a pressure that makes Martina close her eyes and clench her fingers into the sheets. A jolt of pleasure shoots down her spine, and a gasp escapes her, hoarse and uncontrolled. She feels Rebeca’s tongue tracing slow circles, her teeth grazing her, and that contrast pulls her into a wonderful abyss.
“Like that… just like that,” Martina murmurs.
Rebeca obeys with a smile that Martina feels against her skin, kissing her taut belly, pausing at her hipbone to bite it gently. When she reaches the inside of her thighs, she spreads them apart with her hands, and the cool air on her soaking wet sex sends a shiver through Martina. Rebeca looks up at her, then lowers her mouth, and Martina’s world shrinks to the damp heat of that tongue licking her with devastating slowness, from the entrance to her swollen clitoris, savoring her as if she were a long-awaited delicacy.
The pleasure is immediate, intense, a wave that sweeps her away and leaves her breathless. Martina arches her hips, and Rebeca responds by sliding her fingers inside her with an ease that draws a long moan from her throat. She moves them while her tongue continues to work in rapid circles over her clitoris. Martina feels every thrust, every lick, like an electric currentbuilding up, tensing her muscles, quickening her breathing until it becomes ragged gasps. Her hands cling to Rebeca’s hair, pulling without realizing it, and the small sound of approval that escapes the other woman vibrates directly against her sensitive flesh.
“Rebeca… please…” Martina pleads. She feels the orgasm approaching, unstoppable, a knot that tightens more and more with every movement of those fingers and that relentless mouth.
Rebeca looks up for a moment without stopping, and in her eyes shines the possessiveness that makes Martina’s heart skip a beat. Then she picks up the pace, sucking harder, and the world explodes. The orgasm shoots through her like lightning, contracting every muscle in her body, wrenching a muffled scream from her that fades into the room. Waves of pleasure wash over her one after another, and Rebeca doesn’t stop, accompanying her with gentler movements until the trembling subsides and Martina breathes with difficulty.
Martina pulls Rebeca up, kissing her with renewed hunger, tasting her own flavor on those delicious lips. She rolls her over until she’s on top, and now it’s she who explores, who kisses her neck, who descends down her trembling torso until she reaches Rebeca’s breasts. She cups them in her hands, pinching the nipples with just the right amount of pressure she knows drives her wild, and the moan she gets in response is pure music. She goes lower, parting her thighs with open palms, and plunges her tongue into her wet heat without warning. Rebeca arches her back, digging her heels into the mattress, and her fingers tangle in Martina’s hair with an urgency that mirrors her own.
“Martina… yes… like that…” Rebeca gasps, and her voice, broken with pleasure, fuels the fire still burning in Martina’s belly.
She licks with devotion, savoring every drop of her arousal, pushing her tongue as deep as possible before moving up to her clitoris and sucking it with a steady rhythm. Her fingers join the movement, penetrating her, moving in a back-and-forth motion that draws increasingly louder moans from Rebeca’s throat. She feels the internal muscles contract around her fingers, how Rebeca’s body tenses like a bow about to release. She looks up for a moment, and the sight of Rebeca with her head thrown back, her lips parted, and her chest heaving, completely surrendered to the pleasure she is giving her, is a vision that fills her with a sweet, addictive power.
When Rebeca reaches climax, she does so with a stifled cry that breaks into her name. Martina stays with her, easing her touch until the tremors subside, and then leans in to kiss her, sharing the taste of her own desire. They remain like this, face to face, and Rebeca caresses her cheek with her thumb, her eyes shining with an emotion that goes beyond mere physical pleasure.
