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“Oh, no,” Cody interrupted. “Kim.” She pulled her onto her lap and into a fierce embrace. After a few seconds, she leaned back just enough to meet and hold her gaze. Hers was literally burning now, in sharp contrast to her earlier reaction. “Hey, this is the best gift.”

“Are you sure?”

“Hundred percent! Kim, there’s nothing I want more than to be with you all the time. This feels right to me too.”

“But you went white.”

“Did I?”

“Uh-huh.”

Cody flashed a sweet, open smile.

“Now you’re showing your observant and tenacious lawyer side, Ms. Reed.” She laughed and gave a light shrug. “I don’t know why I paled... Surprise, probably.”

Relaxing, Kim caressed her cheek with a folded knuckle.

“Did you think I was proposing to you?”

“No.” Cody’s blue eyes sparkled. “Maybe.” She flushed. “I don’t know, perhaps on some level, yes... I saw the box, and my mind went blank. You have to admit it looked a bit suspicious, right?”

“Suspicious, huh?” Kim frowned again, jokingly this time. “What? Like a grenade?”

“Not quite as lethal as that.” Still amused, Cody kissed her on the lips. She traced a soft finger over her mouth. “I mean, you could have just handed me the keys, eh?”

“I could have.” Kim shrugged. “Didn’t.”

“No…” Cody’s expression grew tender, tentative, and eager all at the same time. “Makes me wonder if maybe, on some level, you meant to present them to me as a bit more than just a living arrangement.”

“Now you’re showing your shrewd and clever cop side.” Kim mirrored her earlier words and statement. “What if it were a little bit more?” she prompted. ”On some level, maybe? How would it make you feel?”

Cody kept her eyes fixed on her face. She answered easily, pretty much instantly. “It would make me feel great. I love you, Kim. I am in love with you. You know it, right?”

For sure, they had danced around that a lot… But of all the ways she might have told her, for the very first time, this hit the deepest and strongest with Kim. Perhaps because her tone was so calm, quiet, and sure. So undramatic, but also charged with undeniable feeling and truth.

“Don’t cry,” Cody added in a whisper.

“Ah!” Kim blinked back tears. “It’s just... God, Cody!”

She kissed her long and deep, full of the joy she felt. Cody was grinning from ear to ear when she let go. Happy and a little dazed. Gorgeously so. When she looked up, her eyes were a bit wet as well. Kim cupped her face in both hands.

“I love you too.” She blew air out sharply. “Wow.”

“Yes, it is,” Cody chuckled. “Totally wow.”

“I don’t know what else to say.”

“Then shut up and kiss me again.”

Kim laughed. Yeah, she was right. Anything else, any more words, could well wait. She tasted clean heat on her lips as she resumed the kiss. She felt her emotion in the way Cody kissed her back. And as she held her, so gentle, and even with a touch of reverence, yet firm and self-assured at the same time. Like Kim belonged to her. Cody did not protest when she slid off her lap and offered her a hand, she just nodded once and rose eagerly to follow. Dinner could wait too. Their kisses grew more urgent on their way to the bedroom. Bumping into walls as they shed clothes was fun. There was an audible rip as Cody relieved her of her bra.

“Oops,” she said. “Sorry.”

Kim laughed, and surprised herself at how heated her own voice sounded. It may have made her blush under different circumstances, with a different woman, but now she just felt so free… So safe with Cody! She loved to feel this part of herself finally being re-awakened. A more raw, wild, and shamelessly demanding side, for sure.

“Give me more,” she instructed and fisted both hands into her hair.

A little rough and plenty possessive, she knew Cody liked her to be this way. So, Kim pulled a little harder, eliciting an approving grunt out of her. It sounded needy too. Like sinful pleasure.