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Alex pulled her in, claiming Charlotte’s lips. And why shouldn’t she, they were hers. They’d been hers for months.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,”

Charlotte confessed, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

She didn’t mean for it to sound like goodbye, but she couldn’t stop herself.

Instead of shedding her clothes hastily, she let Alex pull down the zipper of her jacket. She mirrored the act and tossed both their jackets on the chair next to them.

Grabbing Charlotte by the empty belt loops, Alex led her down until she straddled her hips. In a single, fluid movement, Alex slipped her cool hands under her shirt, exposing Charlotte’s abdomen to the crisp air while the fireplace heated her back.

Charlotte lifted her arms and took the garment the rest of the way. Shaking out her hair, Charlotte flung it to one side.

Alex reached up with both hands, her fingers grazing the sensitive skin at the edge of her lace bra before forging a trail down her trembling belly and stopping at her navel.

“You’ve rejuvenated me, Charlotte.” Alex looked up at her, both hands resting on her hips. “I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”

Her words sheared Charlotte’s heart in two. She bent forward, desperate to return the sentiment. It had been the same for her. Alex had been her light in the darkness, but how could she ever express that to her? She couldn’t. Not without making things worse.

Cupping Alex’s face with both hands, Charlotte parted her lips with the tip of her tongue and kissed her deeply. Rocking her hips slowly in Alex’s lap, Charlotte kissed her like she could convey it all through touch.

Alex’s hands were cold against Charlotte’s sizzling back as she unfastened her bra. With a flick of her wrist, she pulled it o and sent it to the pile.

Throwing her head back, Charlotte tangled her fingers in Alex’s hair as she buried her head in Charlotte’s bare chest.

“I want to feel you,” Charlotte whispered into the sky transforming into a hazy twilight.

Alex obliged, breaking away from her so Charlotte could unbutton her shirt and do away with her bra. Strong arms wrapped around Charlotte’s midsection and turned her.

Charlotte landed on her back, the upholstery too thin to avoid the pain of the hard metal frame digging into her back.

She didn’t have time to care as Alex climbed on top of her.

The sensation of Alex’s skin against hers was overwhelming. She held her tight as they kissed, wishing they could get closer. Just for an instant. Just long enough for Alex to know all the things Charlotte couldn’t say.

Resisting the urge to tear her pants o , Charlotte allowed Alex to taste her slowly. To lick and kiss and bite every inch of her chest while Charlotte kept her fingers tangled in her glossy black hair. She loved how it looked splayed across her chest.

When Alex reached the waistband of Charlotte’s dark jeans, she balanced back on her knees. Moving her hands to behind her head, Charlotte kept herself from helping the job go faster.

Alex looked up at her, her skin flushed, lips swollen, as she pulled apart the button and then unzipped her jeans slowly. With ease, she yanked her pants and underwear o with a few strong tugs and tossed them over her shoulder.

“You too,” Charlotte begged. “Please.”

Alex stood and started unfastening her belt.

“Slower,” Charlotte complained, her eyes glued to Alex’s elegant fingers.

Each deliberate motion revealed a little more skin and increased the desire pooling between Charlotte’s thighs. She committed the moment to memory to wound herself with it later.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” Charlotte whispered before reaching out and pulling Alex back on top of her.

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” Alex joked before kissing her again.

“There are no girls,” Charlotte moaned when Alex’s hand slid down between their bodies and found the arousal that had been building for her. “There’ll never be anyone but you.”

Alex buried her face in Charlotte’s neck as she touched her slowly, her pace so languid Charlotte was sure it would drive her insane.

“I love you,” Alex whispered just before she slipped inside her.