Page 10 of Taken from Her (Phoenix Ridge Police Department #4)

Diana's laugh came out as a squeak. "I'm a mess. I'm falling apart over a case I can't solve, standing in your café at midnight, admitting things I've never told anyone?—"

"You're human," Lavender interrupted gently. "You're finally letting yourself be human."

Diana felt something fundamental shift inside her chest. She was human. She was allowed to feel. She was allowed to need.

"Lavender," Diana breathed.

Lavender stepped closer, close enough that Diana could feel the warmth radiating from her skin and see the concern and something deeper in her eyes. "I'm right here."

Diana's hand lifted without conscious thought, fingers trembling as they traced the curve of Lavender's cheek. Soft skin, real warmth, acceptance that Diana had never thought she deserved.

"I shouldn't—" Diana started, but Lavender's hand covered hers, holding it against her face.

"Stop thinking," Lavender whispered. "Just for tonight, stop thinking and let yourself feel."

The permission Diana had never given herself, offered freely by someone who saw her completely and wasn't afraid. Something inside her chest snapped like a dam breaking, and suddenly she was moving, closing the distance between them with desperate urgency.

Their lips met in a kiss that was nothing like the careful, controlled interactions Diana was used to.

This was desperate, hungry, three weeks of tension and a lifetime of loneliness pouring out in a single moment of connection.

Lavender's mouth was warm and welcoming, tasting like chamomile tea and something uniquely her.

Diana's hands found Lavender's waist, pulling her closer, needing more contact, more proof that this was real. Lavender's arms came up around her shoulders, fingers tangling in Diana's hair, and Diana made a sound she didn't recognize—need and relief and something that might have been a sob.

"Diana," Lavender murmured against her lips, and the sound of her name sent fire through Diana's veins.

They broke apart just long enough to stare at each other in the candlelit dimness, both breathing hard. Diana could see her own desperation reflected in Lavender's eyes, along with something that looked like wonder.

"Are you sure?" Lavender asked as her hands slipped to the buttons of Diana's uniform shirt.

Diana's answer was another kiss, deeper this time, her own hands finding the hem of Lavender's flowing top.

Professional boundaries, ethical considerations, and the investigation—none of it mattered anymore.

Nothing mattered except the woman in her arms and the way Lavender made her feel alive for the first time in years.

They moved together toward the comfortable seating area, hands exploring, the careful distance Diana had maintained dissolving into desperate need. Lavender's skin was soft and warm under her palms, and every touch sent shockwaves through Diana's carefully controlled world.

"I've never—" Diana started, then lost the words as Lavender's mouth found the sensitive spot just below her ear.

"I know," Lavender whispered against her skin. "Let me take care of you."

It was everything Diana had never known she needed. Years of carrying everyone else's burdens, being the strong and competent one, the one who never needed anything from anyone, it all weighed on her.

But here, in Lavender's arms, she could let herself need. She could let herself surrender to the connection she'd been fighting since the moment they met.

Diana lifted Lavender’s top over her head, and as Lavender closed her eyes and lifted her arms over her head, Diana noticed her lean lines of her side.

The shirt fell away discarded on the floor, and Diana gently ran her hands down Lavender’s sides, over the curve of her waist til she got to Lavender’s leggings’ waistband, then flattened her palms on her stomach and ran them back up.

When she got to Lavender’s bra, she snaked her hands behind and unclasped the bra and slipped the straps off her shoulders.

It fell to the floor silently, and Diana cupped Lavender’s full breasts in her hands, squeezing them gently and rubbing her thumbs over her nipples.

Lavender let out a soft moan, and as she wriggled from beneath Diana’s hands, Diana could feel Lavender’s hands reach for her pants.

Diana unstrapped her utility belt, giving Lavender easier access to the button, and she slipped out of her pants, letting them pool on the floor and stepping out of them.

Her hands immediately went to Lavender’s leggings, slipping her thumbs beneath the waistband and pulling them down.

Before she could register what was happening, Diana was guided to the love seat against the far wall, and after she sat, Lavender eased herself gingerly on the floor, balancing on her knees.

“Don’t you want—” Diana started, but Lavender placed her hand on her leg, just above the knee.

“This is what I want,” Lavender said.

Lavender’s touch on her felt electrifying, even over the cotton fabric of her panties.

Diana leaned back against the love seat, feeling her body melt as Lavender kept making circles on top of the fabric.

She inhaled deeply, trying to keep herself and her breath steady, even as her body coiled tighter.

Lavender slipped off Diana’s panties and left the dampened fabric on the floor next to the rest of their clothes, not stopping her rhythm.

Feeling Lavender’s skin on hers activated something inside Diana, and she scooted down and widened her legs.

Lavender pushed a finger inside her, then another, and she gasped as Lavender arced her fingers upward, finding that soft spot she knew would make Diana come undone.

Diana pressed against the love seat, arched her back, and titled her hips up toward Lavender’s hand.

Lavender didn’t ease up, and as she had her fingers deep inside Diana, Diana felt the fingers of her other hand on her clitoris.

Diana could feel herself unravel inch by inch, and a part of herself wanted to maintain control and pull back, but a bigger part of her wanted to stay right where she was. She reached up to caress Lavender’s face, but Lavender pinned her arm at the side.

“Not now,” Lavender said with a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.

When Lavender lowered her head, maintaining eye contact the whole time, Diana felt her breath hitch.

Lavender ran her tongue between Diana’s slick folds, resting at the top of her clitoris.

Diana felt her clit pulsing for more, and Lavender made slow, lazy circles around it.

Diana bit back a moan and bucked her hips against Lavender’s face while she squeezed tight around Lavender’s fingers still inside her.

Lavender arched her fingers upward, rhythmically caressing her G-spot in time with her tongue bathing her clit.

Diana’s body trembled, bordering on vibrating with pleasure, and she let out a guttural moan before biting her lip.

“Let it out, baby. Let me hear you,” Lavender coaxed as her tongue worked its magic.

Diana let herself feel her emotions and pleasure as Lavender sucked and nipped on her clit while continuing to slide her fingers in and out.

“Oh, Lavender,” she softly moaned. “Right there, right there.”

Diana could feel Lavender smile against her skin. “You like that?” Lavender inserted another finger, plunging them in faster and harder.

With her other hand, Lavender put two fingers on either side of her folds, opening her up and leaned her hand to expose the clit. She smiled before burying her face in between Diana’s thighs, flicking her cliroris with her tongue before swirling it.

“Oh my god,” Diana moaned, her voice deep and husky with desire. She lifted her arms to tangle in Lavender’s silvery cropped hair and pull Lavender against her even closer. “I’m about to come. I’m so close. Don’t stop.”

Lavender kept her pace, swirling her tongue around Diana’s clit as she kept hitting her G-spot with her fingers.

Diana could feel her own juices leaking down her legs and making a mess, but she didn’t care.

All she cared about was feeling Lavender’s fingers inside and her tongue pressed against her.

Pleasure rose inside Diana, and she squeezed her eyes shut as it came to a crescendo, her body tensed, and her orgasm crashed over her.

She let out a scream that only let up as the final waves of pleasure dissipated, leaving her a wet mess on the love seat.

After she opened her eyes, Lavender pulled her fingers out and wiped them on a nearby towel.

“That was…” Diana said but realized she couldn’t find her words.

“Mmmm yes, and you taste so good too.”

Lavender got up and sat next to Diana on the love seat, and Diana couldn’t help but notice even more of the little details that drew her attention: the laugh lines around her mouth that spoke of lots of shared happy memories, the crinkles around her eyes that told stories of joy, and the smoothness of her skin.

Her eyes drank in Lavender, traveling from her high cheekbones, down the contours of her cheeks, down her elegant and elongated neck, and along her shoulders.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was tracing the jut of Lavender’s collarbone with her fingers, then moving across her shoulder and down her arm.

Lavender inched closer, their hips flush against each other, warming Diana’s skin where they connected.

Diana leaned in and captured Lavender’s lips in her mouth, scraping the lower lip with her teeth before pressing her lips firmly against Lavender’s.

Diana poked her tongue in Lavender’s mouth, testing, and when Lavender’s mouth opened for her, she pressed even harder.

Diana inhaled, moaning softly, and Lavender’s intoxicating touch and scent.

Diana disengaged and kissed the corner of her lips, her cheek, her neck, the space near her collarbone, her chest, and the swell of her breast. With her right hand, she grabbed Lavender’s breast and kneaded it gently while her mouth sucked on Lavender’s other breast, her tongue flicking the nipple until it was a hardened nub.

Lavender swung her body around so she was now straddling Diana’s legs, their pussies tight against each other. Lavender leaned forward, allowing Diana full access to her breasts. Lavender writhed on top of Diana as she circled her hips, and Diana knew exactly what she wanted.

In one fluid motion, Diana flipped Lavender around on the love seat and positioned herself in between Lavender’s long, smooth legs.

Diana ran her hands up Lavender’s freshly shaven and lotioned legs, squeezing them every few seconds, from her calves to her thighs.

When she got to the top of Lavender’s legs, she let her thumbs caress the edges of Lavender’s pussy, softly and slowly inching her way to her folds.

She felt Lavender already slick and ready for her.

She teased Lavender, running her thumb through the folds, dipping it inside her before running it back up to her clit where she circled around it.

Lavender bucked from underneath her and whimpered, “Please, I need you.”

Diana leaned down to kiss Lavender, darting her tongue in her mouth as she slipped two fingers inside Lavender.

Diana heard Lavender’s breath hitch as Diana plunged her fingers inside as far as they’d go before arching them upward.

The little gasp spurred her on, and she increased her pace, moving her fingers in and out.

“God, yes,” Lavender moaned and moved with the natural rhythm Diana had set.

Diana looked at her and how quickly and easily she let herself lose herself, and she envied Lavender’s ability to feel so deeply without holding herself back or second-guessing herself.

The last thing Diana saw before she lowered her head was Lavender arching her back even more as she ground herself against Diana’s hand.

Diana trailed light kisses from Lavender’s belly down to her mound and finally to her clit.

She gave herself two beats to simply inhale Lavender’s scent, a combination of warm, soft, airy, and something uniquely Lavender.

After she couldn’t resist anymore, Diana planted her face between Lavender’s thighs, lapping her clit while her fingers still pressed inside her.

Lavender squealed and gripped the edges of the couch before Diana felt Lavender’s oval fingernails scrape against her back and trailing up to tangle in her hair.

“Right there, that’s perfect,” Lavender moaned as she spread her legs even wider.

Diana took her fingers out and gripped Lavender’s inner thigh as her tongue made quick work of her clit.

Diana squeezed Lavender’s thigh and pressed her thumb against Lavender’s soft skin before she reached up and grabbed Lavender’s right breast again.

Her thumb teased Lavender’s nipple as she teased her clit with her tongue.

Diana could feel Lavender’s body tighten and coil before she felt Lavender’s release. Lavender screamed as her orgasm crashed wave after wave, “Oh fuck, Diana, yes!”

Much later, they lay entwined on the soft cushions, Diana's head on Lavender's shoulder, both of them breathing slowly back to normal. The candles had burned lower, casting dancing shadows across their skin, and the ocean sounds seemed both distant and intimate.

Diana traced lazy patterns on Lavender's skin, marveling at how right this felt despite how completely it had shattered everything she thought she knew about herself.

"We can't pretend this didn't happen," Diana said quietly, her voice hoarse from the intensity of what they'd shared.

Lavender's hand stroked through Diana's hair. "I wouldn't want to."

"The investigation?—"

"Will continue," Lavender finished. "We'll figure it out. Together."

Diana lifted her head to look at Lavender, seeing something in her expression that made her chest tighten. "Everything's changed."

"Yes," Lavender agreed, reaching up to trace Diana's cheek with gentle fingers. "Everything's changed."