Page 23 of Pomegranate Kiss

“You’re breathtaking,” she murmured, her voice quieted in the wake of the furious storm of emotions and sensations raging through her. All this time she’d spent with Lex was the closest she’d come to feeling complete in a long, long while. She reached up and swiped her thumb across Lex’s cheek, enjoying how the woman nuzzled into the touch.

Lex glanced away, the air growing a little tenser. “I want you to stay,” she murmured, the deepening of her voice stroking across her heart like fingers to guitar strings. “Tonight,” she clarified, biting her lip. Cam’s chest clenched a little tighter at the addition, a reminder that this was temporary. That their candle would burn down until it extinguished. Lex’s gaze turned wicked. “Besides, I only made you come twice. I need at least three more from you before I’m satiated.”

“You’re ridiculous,” she responded. “I’m pretty sure if we try for a hat trick, I’ll die.”

Lex bumped her nose against Cam’s. “Okay, drama queen. Let’s test the theory.”

Lex’s lips caressed down her neck again, and she tilted her head back in surrender. If this sentenced her to damnation, then she’d lean back and enjoy the ride.

Chapter Eleven

Lex didn’t let women spend the night. Hell, she didn’t even bring anyone home.

Yet here Cam lay curled in her bed, the sunlight through the blinds highlighting her heart shaped face, her elegant nose, and a fringe of lashes so thick they bordered on angelic. Lex leaned against the frame of the door, watching the rise and fall of her chest. A fierce wave of longing nearly knocked her over at the sight of Cam in her bed, tangled in her jersey knit sheets, like this was something she could have.

Like they weren’t just a temporary fling.

Cam told Lex from the outset she couldn’t have this—whatever fears held her back from coming out, she wasn’t ready. Yet when she delivered wry retorts or let out loud, unashamed moans, when Lex caught her staring with a tender look in her dark eyes—Lex couldn’t help but fall.

Lex strode in, placing the two mugs of coffee on her dresser before she slid back into bed. She’d tugged on a pair of boxersbut hadn’t bothered with anything else, her house a comfortable temperature. The moment she settled onto the mattress, Cam began to stir.

Lex leaned over to skim her fingers through Cam’s curls. Those thick black waves were pure silk she couldn’t seem to stop touching, especially since yesterday. The way they’d come together last night had been the stuff of her fantasies, better than she could’ve imagined.

“Hey there, gorgeous,” she murmured, leaning against her pillow, her legs sprawled out in front of her.

Cam blinked and pushed herself up, a sleepy, adorable air about her as she tried to smooth her hair. She glanced over to Lex’s alarm clock on the purple nightstand. “If I needed proof last night wore me out, that’d be it. I rarely sleep in this late.”

“Right, so you’re telling me job well done,” Lex drawled, tracing circles along Cam’s bare skin. The sheets slipped from Cam’s shoulders revealing her heavy breasts and dark nipples that formed stiff peaks. Lex was a tits girl, and this woman had the most magnificent pair she’d seen in a long time.

“Go ahead and strut, peacock,” Cam responded, a grin curling her lips. Her gaze swept over Lex’s body, raising the room a couple of degrees. “You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you topless.”

Lex shrugged. “I’m not usually in situations to take my top off.” Truth be told, she hadn’t completely stripped down with anyone. She always left something on, whether a bra, a shirt, or her underwear. In a way, it allowed her to keep her power, so she never felt truly exposed.

“Yet you’ve gotten your hands all over my breasts from day one,” Cam responded, shifting in the sheets. She reached out, gliding her thumb across the snake tattoo that wound up the right side to her breast. Lex’s breath hitched as Cam continuedto trace the linework, lingering on the sensitive skin. Her cheeks flushed at the careful attention, making her feel beyond naked.

“Well you’ve got gorgeous tits, babe,” Lex said, trying to pivot out of the immense reservoir of feeling she’d dipped her toes into. “They deserve to be worshipped.”

“Smooth,” Cam murmured, a fresh and soft drowsiness to her features, like plunging fingers into the earth on the first day of spring. Her gaze transferred to the mugs on Lex’s nightstand. “You brought coffee? Be still, my heart.”

Lex grabbed her a cup and passed it over, needing the distraction. Part of her wanted to dive under the sheets and taste the honeyed warmth between Cam’s legs, but she also needed to abate this curiosity. She hopped off the bed again to grab the tote bag she’d lugged in, heavy with the art books Cam brought. They’d gone straight to fucking last night, but she’d been serious about seeing this woman’s chops.

If she were honest with herself, she wanted to know every single thing about Camilla Muhuri. It had turned into a full-blown obsession.

“I wasn’t just trying to lure you over with a pretense,” Lex said, tugging out the first sketchbook, heavy and spiral bound. She resumed her spot at Cam’s side. “You got to see my art, so it’s my turn now.”

Cam tugged at her hair forming a curtain over her face, gripping the mug of coffee with one hand. “Most of it is old or from college though. It’s embarrassing.” She pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest. Lex’s insides melted like plastic in a campfire at the sight.

“Hey, I’m not grading you, sweetheart,” Lex said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull her in. “So quit stressing.”

Cam leaned in against her chest, cheek pressed to her breast in a way that should’ve been distracting. But it felt comfortable,right. Lex skimmed her fingers through Cam’s raven wing hair and then cracked open the sketchbook.

Cam sipped at her coffee, even as she buzzed with nerves Lex could feel thrumming in the air between them.

Once Lex cracked open the sketchbook, she found herself spellbound.

Cam’s work was the polar opposite of hers, all soft, muted, and delicate in a way she could never be. As she flipped through the pages, she soaked in the small strokes, the flurry of paint on paper that was once a larger part of her life. Cam painted with watercolors mostly— idyllic fields, ballerinas akin to Degas, and scenes belonging to a world more beautiful than she’d ever fit into. She flipped through page after page of these gorgeous scenes, the firm strokes and gentle flurries something that required true talent.

Lex traced the patterns, the whimsical brush strokes, the curves and splashes of color. Cam’s work displayed the same softness that peeked out of her in moments like this. Behind her stubborn declarations and her sarcastic responses, these paintings on the pages were every melted chocolate glance, every shy grin as she exposed a part of herself Lex would torch a building for.

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