Page 92 of Vacation with the Ice Queen

"You have the right," Lila confirmed, pressing a quick kiss to Serena's palm. "Though I appreciate you making sure."

Lightning cracked directly overhead, momentarily flooding the villa with harsh white light before plunging them back into the warm glow of table lamps. The power flickered briefly, then stabilized.

"Island storms can get intense," Lila said, glancing toward the rain-lashed windows. "The resort has generators, but blackouts aren't uncommon."

As if summoned by her words, the lights flickered again, longer this time, before steadying. Serena rose, moving to a cabinet where she extracted several candles and matches.

"Better to be prepared," she said, arranging them strategically around the room. The methodical preparation was so characteristic that Lila couldn't help smiling. Even in romance, Serena approached contingencies with strategic planning.

With candles positioned but not yet lit, Serena returned to the sofa, her movement carrying a new purpose. She sat closer this time, her knee brushing against Lila's in a contact that felt deliberately casual yet charged with meaning.

"There's something I've been wanting to ask you," she said, her usual confidence tempered with something more vulnerable.

"Ask away."

"Why did you request reassignment this morning?"

The question wasn't what Lila had expected. She took a moment to consider her answer, wanting to be honest without reopening barely-healed wounds.

"Because boundaries matter," she said finally. "After Sophie, I promised myself I'd never again pour myself into someone who couldn't reciprocate. When you pulled away so completely this morning, I needed to protect myself."

Serena nodded slowly, accepting this without defensiveness. "And now? Are you protecting yourself now?"

"Not exactly," Lila admitted, finding Serena's hand and intertwining their fingers. "I'm choosing to be present while knowing the risks."

The distinction seemed to resonate with Serena, whose thumb traced gentle patterns across Lila's palm.

"I can't promise I won't mess up again," she said quietly. "I've spent decades building walls. They don't come down overnight."

"I'm not asking for perfection," Lila replied. "Just honest. When you're scared, tell me. When you need space, say so. Don't just... vanish."

"I can do that." Serena brought their joined hands to her lips, pressing a kiss to Lila's fingers that sent warmth cascading through her body. "And maybe you could tell me when I'm being an emotionally stunted workaholic?"

Lila laughed, the sound bright against the storm's backdrop. "I think I can manage that."

Outside, rain continued its relentless percussion against the villa, creating a cocoon of white noise that wrapped around their private bubble. Inside, something was shifting between them—understanding deeper than mere attraction, connection beyond physical chemistry.

The lights flickered again, longer this time, before plunging the villa into darkness. Serena moved with surprising efficiency in the blackout, locating matches and lighting the prepared candles. Within moments, the space was transformed as dancing flames created shadows that moved across walls like living things, soft golden light warming everything it touched.

"Better?" Serena asked, settling back beside Lila on the sofa.

In the candlelight, her silver-streaked hair gleamed like burnished metal and her features softened from their usual precise angles.

"Much better," Lila replied, though she wasn't just talking about the lighting.

Their eyes met in the flickering glow, understanding passing between them without words. Whatever remained unspoken could wait. For now, there was only this—candlelight and storm sounds, the warmth of shared space, and five precious days stretching before them.

Lila leaned forward, erasing the distance between them once more. As their lips met, the storm outside faded to background noise, irrelevant to the moment unfolding within these walls.

Morning arrived with gentle persistence, sunlight filtering through curtains never fully closed after the storm. Lila woke slowly, her body curved against Serena's in a natural fit that felt both new and somehow familiar, as if they'd been sleeping together for years rather than nights.

The power had returned sometime during the night, though they hadn't needed it. They'd made their way to the bedroomin candlelight, touches and whispers creating a map through darkness.

Now, in the soft clarity of morning, Lila watched Serena sleep, a rare vulnerability etched across features that’s usually guarded. Her shoulder-length hair spilled across the pillow, one arm flung above her head in unconscious abandon. The blanket had slipped down, revealing the elegant curve of her shoulder and the faint mark Lila had left there in a moment of passion.

Something tightened in Lila's chest at the sight—not just desire, though that remained a constant current between them, but tenderness. Dangerous territory for a relationship with an expiration date.

As if sensing her thoughts, Serena stirred, eyes opening to find Lila watching her. For one unguarded moment, her face held nothing but simple joy at waking beside her. No worrying about what it might mean or how it might end—just presence in the moment, exactly what Lila had asked of her.

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