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Athena froze.

Monti’s eyes snapped open, and she let go of Athena’s hand instantly. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” The tension was back in between Athena’s shoulders, tightening and pulling until her chest started to hurt. “You didn’t do anything.”

“Nope. I did.” Monti put her hands on Athena’s shoulders, tightly. “Will you look at me?”

Athena had to blink hard to focus her eyes, but she finally found Monti’s in the steamy haze. “What?”

“I will never force you to do anything you don’t want. I should have asked.”

“Asked what?” Athena leaned in, their breasts pressed together again.

“For you to touch me.” Monti raised her eyebrows. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. Why—”

“You’re shaking, and you’re so tense I’m pretty sure you could smash through a concrete wall.” Monti smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

When Athena looked at her, she could definitely see the worry in her gaze now. Blinking, Athena stepped forward and pressed her forehead to Monti’s shoulder. She wrapped her arms around Monti’s back and sucked in a long deep breath. She checked in with her body, and Monti was right. Her back was rigid, her leg muscles were tense. She didn’t want that right now.

“I’m fine.”

“Fine isn’t acceptable, remember?”

“I’m okay,” Athena corrected. She refused to move her body from Monti’s. She used the touch to center herself and bring herself right back into this moment. “I’m good. I promise.”

“You didn’t even notice.”

“Yes, well, as we’ve established, I’m not good at that.” Athena leaned back slightly and smiled. “I don’t want to stop.”

“Are you sure?” Monti slid her fingers down Athena’s arms to her hands. “Because we can definitely stop.”

“I don’t want to.” Athena slid in and kissed Monti on the lips. “Only if you do.”

“I’m good.” Monti pulled Athena in for a deeper kiss. “But I think we should get out of the shower. I’m starting to get overheated.”

“Oh um… sure.” Athena bit her cheek and stepped back. Something about the mood had shifted, and she wanted it back where it was. She held her breath while Monti dipped under the spray of the water and cleaned herself off quickly.

Giving Monti some privacy, Athena stepped out of the shower and snagged a folded towel. What had she done that was wrong? Everything seemed to be going so well until it wasn’t. She knew she’d been the one to mess that up. Wrapping the towel around her chest, Athena left the bathroom and picked up her clothes as she went. Would Monti want her to leave?

She sat on the bed and was starting to pull her shirt over her head when Monti’s voice stopped her. “What are you doing?”

“I thought…” Athena frowned, looking over Monti’s very naked and very wet body. Her breath caught in her throat. “I don’t know what I thought.”

“Did you think I wanted you to go?”

“Yes,” Athena admitted, shame sitting at the top of her chest right where all that tension had been.

“Oh no, no no no no.” Monti came forward immediately, getting down on her knees and putting her hands on Athena’s legs. “I don’t want you to leave, not unless you want to and even then, I won’t want you to leave.”

“I thought…” Athena trailed off. She held her breath, staring down into Monti’s dark eyes. “I thought I had ruined it.”

“You ruined nothing.” Monti lifted Athena’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “I just wanted to check that you were okay and comfortable with what we were doing and give you a few minutes to collect yourself. That’s it.”

Collect herself? Athena dragged her hand through her damp hair. They’d barely gotten started and had to stop already. Now everything was awkward, and she was pretty sure the last thing Monti wanted was to have sex. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. She should have known better than to think that this was going to happen.

“Athena,” Monti said sharply.