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Miranda didn’t wait. She didn’t stop until she reached a second door on the left.

She opened it, and Tori watched, eyebrows pulled tightly together, as Miranda leaned her back against the frame and waved her arm, with the same flourish that a TV game show host might use to display the grand prize.

And what a prize it was.

Tori didn’t need to be told this was Miranda’s actual bedroom. It was warm, lived in, and absolutely Miranda. Everything was in its place, shoes stacked under a small bench at the bottom of the bed, a bench Tori was definitely going to use in an entirely different way the next time they did this. The comforter was rumpled, Miranda not having made her bed that morning, and the idea that Miranda would leave something so simple and easy filled Tori with admiration.

It had never crossed her mind to question the lack of personality in the room she had previously thought was Miranda’s. It hadn’t entirely registered—probably because she’d been so distracted by the woman in front of her, and they had only ever been in there for one thing.

But now, as she looked into Miranda’s actual bedroom, she noticed the things that had always been missing. On the bedside table was a book, a tassel hanging out the end about a quarter of the way in, an empty water glass, and a wireless charging station for Miranda’s phone.

“Are you okay?” Miranda asked, taking Tori’s hand firmly in hers.

Tori looked up into those honey eyes.

“This is your bedroom.” It wasn’t a question, and it wasn’t an accusation.

“It is.” Miranda nodded. “Rebel’s bed used to be in that corner, not that she slept in it nearly as much as she slept on me.”

“And that’s why.” Tori nodded. She understood the logic of never having used Miranda’s actual bedroom before, but still something shifted inside her. The way Miranda looked down at her, love shining through even more than the lust that sparked around them. It made Tori’s love swell to new heights.

Love had so much more power than even she, a serial romantic, had ever truly understood.

“That’s why?” Miranda asked, even as she led Tori over to the foot of the bed and slid her hands beneath Tori’s shirt.

Tori breathed in sharply at Miranda’s cool touch. Her hands were sure and confident, like they’d done this every night since they’d met. They’d definitely never shied away from this part of their relationship, but something about tonight was so different from before.

“Why we’ve never used your room before.” Tori pulled at the hem of her shirt.

Miranda stopped Tori’s movements instantly. Had she said something wrong?

“I guess so.” But the look on her face wasn’t convincing. “I think it was a convenient excuse to keep me from falling in love with you.”

“Oh.” Tori laughed and pressed into Miranda’s body, trying to entice her back to what they had been doing before. “And how did that work out for you?”

“Wonderfully.” Miranda slid her hand expertly up Tori’s stomach to cup her breast. Her thumb rubbed over Tori’s nipple until it hardened despite the material still between skin to skin.

“Clothes. Off.” Tori didn’t even attempt to string more words together. Everything rushed over her. Her heart and mind met in agreement with her body that grew steadily warmer at each stroke of Miranda’s thumb.

“Yes,” Miranda chuckled confidently. “Take your clothes off. I want to see what you can do.”

Tori moaned. Miranda was going to torture her through a slow pleasure tonight. This was so similar to their first time together, except instead of Tori telling her what she wanted, she was willing to do whatever Miranda wanted. She reached for the hem of her shirt again and pulled it over her head, dropping it to the floor.

Locking her eyes on Miranda’s honeyed ones, Tori decided to give her a bit of a show. She trailed her hands over the skin on her stomach, her breasts, and up to her neck before going back down again. She moved her hips back and forth, anticipating the feeling of Miranda against her, in her. Miranda’s eyes lit up, understanding fully what Tori was doing. She leaned against the foot of the bed, her arms crossed, one ankle over the other, and she waited to see exactly what Tori was going to do next.

Which left Tori in the precarious position of having to figure out what to do next. She’d never done this before. But she wanted to give Miranda everything possible, let her know just how much Tori was getting out of this.

“I feel like we need music for this,” Tori said as she reached behind her back and flicked the clasp on her bra.

“I like the silence,” Miranda answered, her gaze dropping to Tori’s newly revealed skin. She looked so stoic, standing there, as if nothing could move or sway her.

Tori was determined to make that happen. She touched her breasts, moving circles around her nipples with her thumbs, licking her fingers to increase the sensation on her hardened nipples. Tori imagined it was Miranda’s hand instead of hers, the slight tease that Miranda would give her as her entire concentration was focused on Tori and nothing else.

“I like the way you move, and I’m not talking about during the throes of passion.” Miranda’s gaze was intense as she spoke, her cheeks reddening.

Tori continued to tease her body, but now she couldn’t stop looking at the woman in front of her.

“You move with such a quiet understanding of the world, not always around everyone but with them.” Miranda’s grip on her elbows tightened, as if she was really struggling not to reach forward.