Page 116 of Backhanded Compliments

“Hi,” Juliette breathes against Luca’s skin, delighting in the way she shivers and turns her head, chin knocking against Juliette’s head.

“Hi,” Luca breathes back.

Juliette twists onto her back. “Wow,” she says, staring up at the ceiling. Light flutters across the room, thoroughly golden as the hour burns its brightest for a few moments more.

“Yeah,” Luca whispers back.

Juliette forces herself up onto one elbow and surveys Luca.

She is a glorious and gorgeous mess. A blush spreads from the top of her cheekbones down to her chest and nipples. She is breathing heavily, and her legs are shaking. Sweat dews across her skin, soaking into the sheets beneath her. Her lashes flutter as she struggles to keep them open.

A flush of pride washes over Juliette. Luca turns her head slightly and catches sight of Juliette’s face. She gives her a crooked half-smile, dimple popping out as a small shadow in the glaze of sunlight.

Juliette drops her head to Luca’s shoulder, kissing her overheated skin. She feels like a lunatic, loving the taste of Luca against her lips. She is overcome by the simple fact that this woman is hers, and she is Luca’s.

“We need to clean up,” Juliette whispers, knowing her thighs are sticky. She would much rather stay in this moment forever.

“I hope you don’t expect me to,” Luca says with a raise of her brow. She gestures to herself, lax and boneless. “I don’t know if I’ll ever walk again.”

“That good?” Juliette asks, half-teasing.

Luca doesn’t shy away from it and nods. “The best.”

Juliette kisses her before she heaves herself into a sitting position and swings her legs over the side of the bed. She hooks her backpack strap around her ankle and drags it closer. She digs her wipes out of the side pocket and wipes herself clean. Then she takes care with several more wipes to clean Luca.

“Come here,” Luca says as Juliette tosses the wipes in the garbage and smacks the air conditioner to get it rattling to life again.

Juliette crawls back onto the bed and collapses on her stomach. Wordlessly, they weave together, legs twining and foreheads touching, a pleasant warmth blooming wherever their skin touches. Luca’s eyes close and Juliette presses kisses to her lids.

“I love you,” Luca whispers, her voice hoarse and raspy.

Juliette bites her lip as once more, emotion surges to the surface. She closes her eyes against the prickling onslaught of tears.

The warm, familiar brush of Luca’s fingers against her cheek makes her eyes open. She stares at her, eyes wide and full of unabashed and unashamed love. Juliette shivers, but Luca presses in closer, arms wrapping around Juliette and drawing her even closer. In the brilliance of the sunlight, there are no secrets, no hidden emotions, no unseen vulnerability.

And as Juliette breathes through the overwhelming surge of emotions too big for her body, she relaxes into the safety of Luca’s arms.

FORTY-SIXLUCA

Luca is certain she has never slept better in her life. In the blissful oblivion of nothingness, there are no nightmares that plague her. Eventually, she’s jostled awake by Juliette as she sits up and untangles their bodies. Or perhaps they’d already drifted apart while asleep, overheated and too sweaty to be pressed skin-to-skin forever.

The thought doesn’t disturb her like she thought it would. She knows that when she opens her eyes, Juliette will be within reach. And so, when she does open her eyes, she indulges in reaching out and running her knuckles down the length of Juliette’s spine.

Juliette slides her hands through her curls, sweeping them off her neck. “Hey,” she says, “I got some water.” She turns and hands Luca a bottle before curling into the pillows.

It soothes her aching throat. “Thank you,” she murmurs. It’s gotten dark fast, the sun gone. All that remains of their sunny day is the heat that’s settled into her bones. A lamp on the table across from them casts a tawny light onto Juliette’s face.

“We should do that again,” Luca says, and Juliette laughs, her smile bringing the soft fluttering in Luca’s stomach to life again.

“A lot more,” Juliette agrees.

“I needed that. And I don’t just mean getting laid. Which I did, but I also needed you.” Luca wants to cover her face, wants to hide from the vulnerable truth. Juliette gazes up at her, eyes liquid soft. “I needed the physical connection, and it transcended what I thought it would be. I’ve never felt like this before.”

Juliette traces her fingers along the curve of Luca’s hip. “Like what?”

Luca swallows. “Whole.” She touches her sternum. She usually has a flutter of anxiety coiled into a tight ball behind her ribs, but it’s silenced. Perhaps not gone, but at ease. All the puzzle pieces have been slotted together, and she knows she’ll be okay.

Juliette’s smile widens, so big it’s like she can’t contain it. “Me too.” She turns, getting onto her stomach and lying next to Luca, propped on her elbows. “I wish we would’ve worked this out sooner,” she murmurs, taking Luca’s hand and playing with her fingers.

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