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“Running?” Athena looked so confused, and it was adorable. It didn’t surprise Monti that Athena was lost. This conversation was coming out of nowhere for her.

Monti hummed her assent. This time, instead of a kiss, she licked Athena’s thigh, chasing the salty flavor from her legs as she went. Monti wrapped her arms around Athena’s thighs and held on. She was losing her own patience to hold them within this moment.

“I’m really good at avoiding things.” Monti licked her again, this time getting ever closer to the apex of Athena’s legs, the one place they both wanted her. But the conversation was so important, and for once, Monti wasn’t going to avoid it. She was going to dive right into the depths of sharing that she needed to experience, that Athena needed to be receptive to. “I thought I was doing everyone a favor, you know.”

“No, I don’t know,” Athena answered, awkwardly shifting on her knees. That probably was getting uncomfortable. The floors were hard stone, and as much as the cold was welcome against Monti’s back, she couldn’t imagine kneeling on them for too long.

“By keeping my distance.” Monti kissed Athena’s clit before pulling back and looking up into those stunning blue eyes. This was the moment of true confession, the real reason she had held back for years. Athena deserved to know why Monti had held back on whatever was between them. “I thought I was protecting them.”

“Oh.” The word came out on a breath.

“But I was protecting myself from feeling my pain.”

Monti kissed Athena’s clit again, this time adding in a teasing flick with her tongue. She groaned as her eyes fluttered shut. Controlling herself right now was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. Moving her knees up, she pressed them into Athena’s back to knock her forward slightly. She was so ready to have her mouth against Athena. She was tired of waiting for this moment of clarity to hit. It was there. Monti licked her fully, and Athena let out the softest moan in existence.

“In order not to feel it, I couldn’t feel anything else,” Monti added before diving back in. She sucked Athena gently, slowly building the pressure until she stopped again. “I don’t want to do that anymore.”

“You’re not making any sense.” Athena leaned back, twisting half her body and pressing her hand to Monti’s knee as if to hold herself steady.

The idea hit Monti hard, and she sent Athena a wicked grin. “Touch me if you want. I love feeling your fingers inside me just as much as I loved your mouth.”

“Do you?” Athena raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yes.” Monti started sucking on Athena’s clit again. She was going to make this the hardest orgasm Athena had ever experienced, one that was dragged out until she couldn’t stand it anymore. At least that was her intention, but she knew herself well enough to know that she would get impatient soon enough. Still, intentions counted for something, didn’t they?

Monti reached up and covered one of Athena’s breasts, flicking her hard nipple with the edge of her thumb while she continued the same damn sucking pattern. Athena’s hips rocked before they twitched. Satisfaction rolled through Monti. She was doing something right.

“I don’t want to be alone in this world.” Monti took a breath and went right back in.

Athena cried out. She slid her hand between Monti’s legs, fumbling as she found the right position to slide two fingers inside her. Monti instantly tensed at the intrusion, the lingering sensations from her earlier orgasm building up quickly. Damn, Athena was good with her fingers. For someone who’d never done this before, she was a fast learner.

Throwing her head back, Monti gasped when Athena hit a particularly sensitive spot. “Fuck.”

“Being alone is so hard,” Athena murmured.

“It is.” Monti met Athena’s gaze. “But we’re not alone anymore, are we?”

“No.”

“I want you, Athena. I really do.”

Athena looked like she wanted to move and bend down and kiss Monti senseless. But they were far from any position that would allow them to do that. Monti didn’t give her a chance either. She pressed her face right back between Athena’s legs, teasing her with sucks and kisses and flicks. She pulled Athena closer, ignoring her own pleasure if only to have Athena fall apart on top of her for a change, all that power directly above Monti.

Hissing, Athena moved her hand as she clenched her eyes in concentration. Monti knew Athena was close now. She redoubled her efforts, teasing Athena’s nipples while sucking on her clit. Athena’s legs trembled, the physical reaction a sure sign she was about to shatter. Monti maintained, keeping everything just perfect as Athena unraveled.

Her hips undulated into Monti’s mouth, rocking hard and firmly as her stomach clenched tightly. Monti kept the pressure up, waiting for a sign from Athena that she wanted it to stop, that she wanted a break. Without warning, Athena shifted off her knees and fell to the side. She collapsed onto the tile floor, her hand on her stomach and her arm over her eyes as she tried to catch her breath.

Monti climbed closer to her, lying against her side and running soothing fingers over her arms and chest and stomach as she waited for Athena to speak again. They stayed there for a long time, the silence that had become their comfortable companion taking up the space all around them, wrapping them in its safety. Finally, Athena lowered her arm so she could look up at Monti.

“What do you want?”

“So many things.” Monti smiled, but nerves hit her full force in the chest. “But I need you to be more specific about what you’re asking.”

Athena’s lips parted as if she was going to ask a question and then stopped herself. Monti played her fingers over Athena’s breasts, not quite teasing, but definitely letting Athena know that she was still there.

“For yourself,” Athena finally clarified. “Where do you want to go from here?”

“I want to work on things with Fallon.” Monti’s brow furrowed. That hadn’t really been what she wanted to say. But until she knew where Athena stood, if they were both in the same place, she wasn’t ready to confess that maybe some sort of relationship between them would be the way to move forward. And that would take a lot of talking. Dating a married woman wasn’t something Monti had done before, and it didn’t matter if Athena and Kevin had full comprehension of their relationship. Adding in another person to that mix was going to shake things up.