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The doors rolled back and she stepped inside, finger hovering over the button to the top floor… only to stifle a groan when Victoria slipped in after her.

“Floor?” Charlotte asked, voice hard and unyielding.

“I’m going wherever you are, baby girl.”

Charlotte fought the growl and deliberately pressed the button for the basement. Victoria didn’t even notice, her lips just curved with smug satisfaction.

“Remember the last time we were here,” Victoria murmured, sidling closer.

Charlotte turned her head slowly. “You mean the trip you insisted on planning for my birthday? Where you forced me to miss Christmas with my family and said birthday… with my twin?”

The doors slid closed, partially muffling Victoria’s laugh, which convinced Charlotte she still didn’t understand why it was a problem.

“We had a wonderful time⁠—”

“That’s not how I remember it.”

Charlotte recalled being alone far more than together because Victoria seemed to disappear. There were epic fights, leading to the night she tried to break things off and go home only to be convinced to stay because Victoria promised to do better and Charlotte desperately wanted to believe her.

“Let me make it up to you,” Victoria purred in that same practiced, sultry tone, green eyes dark as she peered up through thick lashes.

The elevator dinged. The doors rolled open.

Charlotte gestured for Victoria to exit ahead of her. She waited just long enough for her to realize the ride hadn’t been long enough and the finishings here were decidedly not the guest floors. Victoria’s brows knitting in confusion.

“I would rather peel my own skin from my bones than breathe the same air as you,” Charlotte said, voice frigid and dipped in venom. Then she smiled, as though this was a friendly chat. “Enjoy your night. I fully intend to enjoy mine, with my girlfriend, who I plan to have bent over our bed in…” she glanced at her watch for effect, “two minutes.”

Charlotte hit the button for her floor and let the doors close on the look of pure outrage souring Victoria’s face.

Sweet, sweet vengeance.

Music drifted from the bedroom, accompanied by the soft sound of Ali’s humming. Charlotte followed to find Ali flitting around the room, turning on an assortment of candles, dressed in nothing but a robe, her hair half-damp from the shower.

Charlotte’s sparking temper ebbed away.

“Setting the mood?”

Damp waves spun as Ali whirled around, dimples impressing themselves on either side of that wide breathtaking smile.

“Babes!” Ali chirped, running forward and launching herself into Charlotte’s arms.

Charlotte caught her easily, using the momentum to lift her feet off the ground and spin them around in a single rotation. She kept her close, pulling back to get a closer look at her.

“You’re looking rather rosy-cheeked,” Charlotte said, kissing the freckles peppered across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. “Did you have the water set to scalding?”

Ali shook her head, fingers toying with the strands at the nape of her neck.

“Imani flirted with me the entire flight.” She sighed wearily. “I haven’t recovered.”

Charlotte’s head fell back and she groaned, making a mental note to text Imani a death threat later. “I’m sorry. She does these things to mess with me.”

“I know she’s straight. Still turned into a tomato.”

“I’ll avenge you,” Charlotte assured her, burying her nose in Ali’s neck, breathing her in… she smelled different, more expensive.

Ali must have felt her pause because she giggled.

“I forgot my shampoo and conditioner,” she explained. “I hope it’s okay that I used yours.”