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“Please,” Tori begged.

Miranda didn’t need to be told twice. She started with a kiss, a gentle delicate kiss right to Tori’s clit. Then she nuzzled and worked her way lower, lapping up her juices, swallowing them before she truly started in again. She wanted Tori to come all over her, to think about nothing but what was happening in this one moment.

She teased Tori’s clit with the tip of her tongue, flicking it hard before she covered it entirely with her mouth. Tori grasped her hair, pulling and tensing her fingers as she pressed into the door to keep herself upright. So much for the bed happening. The only problem Miranda found with using her mouth was that she couldn’t talk, couldn’t ask what Tori wanted or how she needed Miranda to do something different. She was stuck hyper-focusing on Tori’s body, paying attention to every silent tell that she could take in.

Tori gasped. Her nails dug into Miranda’s scalp sharply. Her entire body jerked suddenly. She was close. She had to be. Miranda held onto her hips, pushing in more as excitement coursed through her. This was amazing. She’d almost forgotten how good cunnilingus felt, the taste of another woman against her lips, the wetness that made her cheeks sticky, the thrill that ran through her knowing she was in complete control of Tori’s pleasure.

Wetness pooled against Miranda’s cheeks. Her heart racing as Tori cried out, the sound reverberating through Miranda’s body and setting every one of her nerves on fire. She longed for this—the connection. Tori hadn’t been wrong. That’s what good sex was about, and she was only now willing to admit it to herself. Tori tapped Miranda’s head twice, a silent ask that she stop. Miranda dragged her tongue through Tori’s slit, gathering up as much of her as possible.

Standing up, Miranda kissed Tori’s lips. She took and she gave whatever she had. She wasn’t sure what to do next, where they would go from there, but in this moment, she really didn’t care. This was about finding sanctuary in each other from the chaos that pounded them. Miranda wasn’t willing to give that up.

Tori snapped the buttons on Miranda’s slacks and pushed her pants and underwear down over her hips. Miranda pulled back, eyeing Tori carefully. She ran her fingers over Tori’s lips, down her neck and over the swell of her breasts to her nipples. She was just about to lean in when Tori’s voice stopped her.

“What do you like?”

“Hmm?” Miranda had to find her brain again. She’d left it somewhere in the living room, and it hadn’t caught back up with her.

“What do you like about sex?” Tori was already working her hands over Miranda’s body, skimming, touching, testing.

Her mind was a blur, and it was so hard to focus. Miranda rested her forehead on Tori’s shoulder and dragged in a deep breath of cool air. She had to think. Tori expected an answer. Only two words came to mind, two of the most honest words she had ever said. “Losing control.”

“Perfect,” Tori murmured. She flipped them swiftly, crushing their mouths together.

The door was hard against Miranda’s back, her head bouncing off it slightly from the force that Tori took her. Tori was everywhere. How did she manage to do that? She must have ten hands and three mouths at least. Miranda opened her eyes, staring at Tori and trying to catch her bearings. What was happening?

Tori laced their fingers together and then tugged Miranda away from the door. She walked toward the bed, a smile on her lips and her eyes full of mischief. She turned Miranda and encouraged her to get on the bed. Miranda cocked her head to the side. “What are you doing?”

“Helping you to lose control.” Tori crawled on top of her, pushing her down as she went.

Miranda pulled herself closer to the center of the mattress, waiting to see what would happen next. She’d asked for this in a roundabout way, and it seemed as though Tori was going to deliver. Tori straddled Miranda’s hips, the smile never leaving her as she bent down and placed the most tender kiss Miranda had ever received on her lips.

“Close your eyes,” Tori whispered. “Trust me.”

Miranda never trusted. She’d been taught throughout her life that she could only rely on herself, but this was Tori. She’d done nothing but be there when Miranda needed her. She hadn’t torn down any trust between them yet.

“Okay,” Miranda murmured. This was a risk, but it was one she was willing to take for now. Closing her eyes, she slowed her breathing and listened only to the slight touches against her skin. The brush of Tori’s hair along her breasts as she moved. The shift of the mattress. The puff of hot air from Tori’s lips against her neck.

“Let me do this.” Tori’s voice was a balm.

Miranda calmed even more. Tori pressed gentle kisses to the hollow of her neck.

“I love the lines of your body. You have so much understated strength in your shoulders, physically.” Tori kissed her collarbones. “The emotional strength you have isn’t something anyone could miss.”

Miranda’s breath hitched.

Tori kissed down the center of Miranda’s chest before hovering right over her heart. The hot air from her breath sent shivers through Miranda, hardening her nipples again. “You have a heart of gold. I see that in the work you do, but in the love you show for your family mostly.”

A kiss to her heart. Then Tori moved to her breasts, nipples, twirling her tongue and sucking. Miranda clenched her fingers into the blanket underneath her, struggling to keep her eyes closed. She wanted to know where Tori was headed next, what she would say.

The kisses moved down her stomach, over the slight swell she’d gained with age and poor eating habits. Tori hummed, lavishing care on every part of her body. “You carry so much of your emotions here, don’t you?”

How could she know that? Miranda wiggled, uncomfortable at being called out.

Tori kissed her again. “I wish I could ease the ache.”

The kisses moved swiftly down over her hips to her legs and thighs. “You carry the weight of the world on these legs, the weight of more than just your life.”

Miranda’s body clenched, longing for Tori’s mouth or fingers inside her. She drew in a sharp breath, struggling to stay still and listen. Everything Tori was doing was so odd but so very welcome. She was seen. For the first time in her entire life, someone saw her for who she was.