She broke the kiss and pushed herself onto the counter. Her legs parted. Emma stepped between them, their foreheads touching again. Natalie’s fingers found the wavy fall of chestnut hair and slid through it, tugging lightly. The moan that escaped Emma this time sent heat pooling low in Natalie’s belly. She kissed her harder, pouring into it every unsaid July, every lonely night in Los Angeles, every moment she had convinced herself that wanting this made her selfish.
Emma’s hands moved up her sides, thumbs grazing the undersides of her breasts through fabric. Natalie arched into the touch, a broken sound rising in her throat. The kiss turned deeper, slower, their mouths learning each other with a thoroughness that left no room for doubt. She could feel Emma’s heartbeat where their chests pressed together, fast and strong, matching her own.
Emma pulled back a fraction, breathing ragged, hazel eyes dark with emotion. “Tell me if this is moving too fast...” Her voice came low, threaded with the same vulnerability Natalie felt cracking her open. “I know we’ve waited a long time for this, but that doesn’t mean we have to rush into anything either.”
Natalie felt Emma’s breath against her lips, ragged and close. Her own breathing came too fast. She studied Emma’s hazel eyes.
“No,” Natalie said, the word simple and certain. Her fingers stayed tangled in Emma’s chestnut waves, holding her there. “I don’t want to wait. Not unless you do.” She swallowed, throat tight. The vulnerability in Emma’s tone had mirrored her own so perfectly it stole her breath. Her body angled toward Emmawithout permission, knees bracketing those slim hips. The contact sent small sparks along her nerves.
A slow smile tugged at her lips as understanding clicked into place. Of course Emma might wonder. Natalie had never come out. She had kept every quiet affair tucked away in Los Angeles hotel rooms and trusted friends’ apartments, women who understood discretion and never asked for more than she could give. Those moments had been careful and fleeting, nothing like this. Nothing like the way Emma looked at her now.
Emma’s brow creased in quiet question, reading the smile. Natalie brushed a thumb across one freckled cheekbone, the skin warm and slightly flushed. “I’ve been with women before,” Natalie said. “Quietly. Carefully. But never like this. Never with someone who knows me the way you do.” Her free hand found Emma’s waist again, palm sliding under the hem of the tank top to rest against bare skin. The touch grounded them both. Natalie’s pulse fluttered at her throat where Emma’s gaze dropped for a moment.
“I want this,” Natalie whispered. Her fingers traced the line of Emma’s spine under the fabric, feeling the subtle arch of her back. “I want you.”
Then she kissed Emma again, slower this time, letting the slide of tongues say what her guarded heart was still afraid to say. Heat flared brighter in her core. She forgot the counter’s hard edge digging into her thighs, forgot the grief that had consumed her. There was only Emma’s hands sliding up her sides, the soft gasp shared between their lips, and the terrifying certainty that she no longer wanted an exit.
15
Emma helped Natalie down from the counter, hands steady on her hips. For a moment their bodies pressed together, warm through their clothes. She took Natalie’s hand and led her down the narrow hall, heart pounding. The house was quiet except for their footsteps. Her bedroom waited at the end, door slightly ajar the way she always left it. Thank god she had made the bed that morning, and her room was tidy. Everything looked normal, but nothing felt real.
She still could not believe this was happening.
The words Natalie had spoken in the kitchen kept circling through her.I’ve been with women before. Quietly. Carefully. But never like this. Never with someone who knows me the way you do.They should have stung. Five years of imagining Natalie as inexperienced had shaped Emma’s fantasies. But the confession changed something. Her shoulders relaxed, and her grip on Natalie’s hand tightened. She didn’t need to be so careful. Natalie knew what she wanted. It showed in her kisses, in how her hands moved along Emma’s skin.
They crossed the threshold together. Emma turned on the lamp by the bed, light spreading across the floor. She turned to speak, but Natalie kissed her again and the words disappeared.
Emma’s hands found the hem of Natalie’s shirt and pulled it upward. The fabric slipped free and fell behind them. Clothes fell away. Jeans pushed down, tops discarded. They both paused when they were down to their bras and underwear.
Emma backed toward the bed until her legs hit the mattress and sat, pulling Natalie with her. Natalie climbed into her lap, knees on either side of Emma’s thighs, weight warm and solid.
Their mouths met again, deeper now. Emma ran her palms up the bare length of Natalie’s back, tracing the delicate knobs of spine, the faint tension that lived between her shoulder blades. The skin felt impossibly soft under her hands. She mapped every inch she could reach while Natalie’s fingers explored her collarbones, her neck, the sensitive spot just below her ear that made her breath hitch. Natalie’s touch carried confidence. No hesitation. Only deliberate strokes that left trails of heat behind.
She broke the kiss just enough to speak against Natalie’s lips, voice rough. “Tell me if it’s too much.”
“It’s not.” Natalie’s answer came quick, breath warm against her mouth. Those blue eyes had gone dark, pupils wide. “I’ve wanted this for so long, Emma. You have no idea.”
The words landed like a match to dry kindling. Emma kissed her harder, one hand sliding into those dark waves to hold her close. Their bodies rocked together in a slow rhythm, their bras and thin underwear the only thing separating them. She felt the heat between Natalie’s legs pressed against her own thigh, felt the way Natalie’s breath grew shallow every time their hips shifted just right. Her free hand roamed lower, cupping the curve of Natalie’s backside through cotton, squeezing gently. The soft sound Natalie made against her mouth sent fresh want spiraling through her.
Emma felt a strange fierce pride that Natalie had found pleasure before, even if it had been hidden and careful. Thoseexperiences had shaped the woman in her arms into someone who knew what she wanted and reached for it without apology.
Emma let her hands learn the shape of Natalie’s breasts through the fabric of her bra, thumbs brushing over hardened nipples until Natalie arched into the touch. The response pulled a low groan from Emma’s throat. She wanted to memorize every reaction, every catch of breath, every way Natalie’s body told her what felt good.
Natalie trailed kisses along Emma’s jaw, down the column of her neck, teeth grazing the sensitive spot where shoulder met throat. The scrape sent electricity racing straight down Emma’s spine. She tilted her head to give better access, fingers tightening in Natalie’s hair. Outside, a light rain began to patter against the window.
Emma’s hands kept moving, reverent and hungry at once. She traced the freckles scattered across Natalie’s shoulders, followed the faint lines where her bra pressed into skin.
She pulled back enough to meet Natalie’s gaze, chest heaving. “Stay with me tonight,” she whispered, the words carrying every unsaid thing between them. Her fingers brushed a stray wave of dark hair behind Natalie’s ear, lingering at the warm skin there.
Natalie’s answer came soft against her mouth, breath warm where their lips still touched. “I will. I’m not going anywhere tonight.” The words sank straight into Emma’s bones, loosening the last tight knot of worry she had carried for five long years. Then Natalie kissed her again, deeper this time, and Emma forgot how to think.
Natalie’s hands moved with quiet purpose along her back, fingers finding the clasp of her bra. A quick twist, a slide of fabric, and cool air met her bare skin. She shivered once, not from cold but from the way Natalie looked at her now, eyestracking every new inch revealed like she had waited a lifetime to see it.
Emma reached for Natalie in return, palms skimming up her sides until she found the hook of her bra. The clasp gave way easily. She eased the straps down Natalie’s shoulders, letting her hands follow the path, learning the warmth of bare skin, the faint rise of gooseflesh under her touch.
Natalie moved then, guiding Emma back until she lay against the sheets. The mattress dipped as Natalie settled over her, knees on either side of her hips, her weight pressing Emma into the bed. Dark hair fell around them like a curtain, brushing Emma’s collarbones and sending tiny sparks across her nerves.
Emma’s hands explored the curve of Natalie’s waist, thumbs stroking the soft skin just beneath her ribs, then higher to cup the weight of her breasts. Natalie arched into the touch, a quiet sound escaping her that made heat pool low in Emma’s belly.
