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“And you make me bend over for you so you can take exactly what you want.”

The breathy confession was the nail in the coffin for both of them. Natalia let go of Sam’s nipple to wrap her arm around her ribs. Holding her in place, her other hand moved so fast, Sam had to throw her weight back and let Natalia hold her up while she produced the kind of deafening, disorienting orgasm she usually only managed with a vibrator.

Three times Natalia made her come like that. Body wrapped around hers, and words of encouragement moaned against her ear. Sam would have easily managed a fourth orgasm, but her thighs gave way and she had to beg Natalia to stop.

Sam turned in her arms to kiss her, but Natalia beat her to it. Legs still locking Sam in place like Natalia feared she might slip away if she let up. Natalia kissed her with the unmistakable sentiment of I missed you, too.

CHAPTER 26

It was nearly sunrise, but Natalia hadn’t gotten a moment of sleep. With Samantha laying in her bed, she told herself that it didn’t mean anything as long as she didn’t fall asleep.

She didn’t have a good excuse for why she asked Samantha about her tattoo, but she blamed it on the lack of sleep and marathon night of sex.

Samantha turned her head, regarding Natalia with surprise, her chest still covered in a thin sheen of sweat. “You want to know about my tattoo?” A smile tugged at her lips, swollen and dark pink from use.

Natalia gave a careless shrug, as if she hadn’t been curiously eyeing her inked skin. “Purely out of academic interest.”

“Then what kind of teacher would I be if I didn’t oblige?” Samantha shifted onto her side so they were face-to-face, heads almost sharing a pillow. She was suddenly so close, Natalia had to resist the urge to shift away. The sensation of non-sex-related proximity was foreign but not entirely unpleasant — like acclimating to breathing through a snorkel and trusting that the clear, Caribbean ocean wouldn’t swallow her whole — she tried to relax into it.

“Well, if you must know...” Samantha traced a finger lazily along her own arm. “I wanted to be an animal behaviorist when I was a kid.”

“Why?” Natalia followed Samantha’s fingers as they grazed her painted bicep.

“A very enthusiastic guide at the zoo when I was ten,” she replied with a chuckle that amplified the bronze flecks in her dark eyes. “Elephants have these complex matriarchal social structures. The herds are led by the eldest female. She makes all the decisions, guides the group, teaches the young.”

“So you’ve been obsessed with female-led societies since you were a child,” Natalia noted.

“I guess so.” Samantha’s eyes warmed. “They form these incredible social bonds and rituals. And they experience emotions — grief, compassion, love — as deeply as humans do.”

“More deeply than most humans,” Natalia guessed.

“Definitely.” She reached out for Natalia, a warm hand on her exposed hip. “I’m surprised you don’t have some hidden tat somewhere.”

Natalia raised a brow, jaw set and expression intensely pompous. “One simply does not put a bumper sticker on a Ferrari.”

Face brightening, Samantha laughed with her chest and her throat and her eyes. How the hell did she do that? “Excellent point,” she agreed before pulling Natalia closer with a decisive show of upper body strength.

Natalia knew she should roll away. Should stop her before they found themselves tangled together again. But she allowed Samantha to kiss her despite knowing better. Let her slide her hand over her hips and grab her thigh like she owned it before hooking Natalia’s leg around her.

The way Samantha touched her with unshielded awe and abject lust was intoxicating. It was a tide Natalia was too tired to fight.

Pulling Samantha on top of her, she relished the way her hips fit between her thighs. Luxuriating in the sensation of Samantha rocking slowly against her while they kissed. This time, Samantha’s lips moved slowly, savoring her like she wanted to carry the moment off to work with her.

Gripping Samantha’s ass, Natalia urged her to use more friction. To kiss her harder. Samantha, finally understanding the pecking order, gave in to her desire. At least in the bedroom.

The sound of an irritating ding from Samantha’s phone broke her rhythm just as Natalia had closed her eyes. She furrowed her brow, trying to think of nothing but how good Samantha felt on top of her, when the phone dinged again.

“Who the hell is texting you at this hour?” Natalia snapped.

Holding herself up and off Natalia’s chest, Samantha gave her a smug grin. “Are you jealous?”

Natalia engaged her most irritated expression. “I’m annoyed that it’s compromised your concentration.”

Samantha chuckled and kissed Natalia again. “It’s not me who’s distracted. I have world-famous laser focus.”

The phone dinged a third time, this time eliciting a frustrated groan from both of them. Rolling off of her, Samantha reached for the nightstand on the far side of the enormous bed.

“It’s supposed to be on silent,” Samantha muttered and then looked at Natalia with raised eyebrows. “Oh shit.”