Page 26 of Always There For You

As daring as Amelia felt, Hadley was the one to tug them down to the bed they now shared. The morning light was filtered through half-shuttered blinds, streaking the dark red sheets with thin lines of soft yellow. That light filtered through the brown and copper of Hadley’s hair as she flopped down and pulled Amelia with her. Hadley looked like some kind of nymph, artfully sprawled out as she waited for her lover. It made Amelia shiver, that sight.

“I’m assuming now is okay?” Hadley murmured as Amelia crawled up to lay beside her.

Amelia tangled her fingers through Hadley’s hair, watching the light dance through it. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.”

“Naughty. I like it.” Hadley’s face was practically cherubic as she grinned. “My, my. Amelia’s forgoing work for a little hanky-panky.”

“Eugh, don’t call it that.”

“What should I call it?” Her eyes flashed and her grin shifted, the edge of it turning wicked. “Playing hooky? Morning delight?”

“More like…” Amelia took the moment to skim her palm up Hadley’s stomach, stopping only to rest between her breasts. She wanted to feel Hadley’s breath hitch as she said, “Me watching you fall apart under my fingers and tongue.”

Amelia got her sought-after gasp, and the delectable sight of Hadley biting her lip. “Jesus Christ, Ames. C’mere.”

Hadley pulled on her arm until Amelia acquiesced, sliding on top of Hadley so she could rest between strong, slim thighs and work on shoving Hadley’s dark blue sweater out of the way. “You’ve seen that already,” Hadley teased in a throaty whisper as Amelia pushed the sweater up higher.

“I have, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to now.” Amelia helped Hadley wiggle out of the sweater, taking a moment to pull back and really look. Hadley’s tawny, freckled shoulders sloped gently down to long, wiry arms. She’d always been willowy but Amelia loved how ethereal she looked right now in the thin sunlight. Hadley practically sparkled, glimmering with energy and life. And as badly as Amelia wanted, she also needed to remember this. The glow, the light. Hadley’s expectant, warm smile. The way her hair fanned out across their bed.

“I like it when you stare at me like that.”

“Like what?”

Hadley shrugged. “Like you’re trying to burn the moment into your mind. It makes me feel…” She blinked, turned away.

“Hads.”

Hadley swallowed hard and turned back. “Special. You always make me feel special.”

With a groan, Amelia collapsed on her, pressing kisses to Hadley’s jaw and neck, loving the way Hadley squirmed in delight. Soft gasps filled the quiet air and they wrenched Amelia’s heart in different directions, forcing her to bounce between tenderness and lust, adoration and love and everything else Hadley evoked within her.

Nimble fingers worked their way down her shirt, the barest brush of fingertips making her shiver. When Hadley shoved at the plaid in an attempt to push it down her shoulders, Amelia straightened only to shrug it off and peel out of her bralette.

“I wanted to do that,” Hadley pouted, but her eyes were fixed on Amelia’s breasts. She felt a surge of confidence; it was a hell of an ego boost to be stared at in such a way. Like Hadley wanted all of it, everything, all of her…right now.

“Should we…” Hadley swallowed hard, dropped her voice. “Go slow, I’m guessing?”

Trying not to grin, Amelia settled on the bed beside her and ran her touch over Hadley’s belly. Her skin was so soft and the very air around them was perfumed with jasmine. “You could lay right here and let me take care of you,” she whispered into Hadley’s neck while hooking her fingers into the waistband of Hadley’s jeans. “Doesn’t mean you can’t participate, but I enjoy this.”

“Taking care of me?” Hadley’s voice was thin, shaky at the edges.

“Like you do for me. I want to repay -”

“Ames.” Hadley turned to look at her, all levity gone from her expression. “What I want is you. There’s no repayment. Not for being my friend.” She brushed the hair out of Amelia’s face, the touch so delicate it made Amelia shiver. “Or my partner.”

The tears welled up in her eyes so quickly Amelia didn’t have the chance to blink them out of existence. All she could do was nod and kiss Hadley and hold her close until they were both panting. “I wasn’t trying to make you cry,” Hadley said against her mouth.

Surely not all of those tears were hers. “I wasn’t trying to make you cry, either.”

Hadley pulled back to show Amelia her tear-stained face and soft smile. Amelia's heart melted. “Haven’t even gotten each other naked and we’re both a mess,” Hadley said between laughs. “Oh my god.”

Amelia shook her head with a laugh. This morning had absolutely not gone the way she’d expected. She loved it, every ridiculous moment and every tear and every single kiss she got to keep close to her heart. “Let me take care of you,” she whispered, slipping down Hadley’s body to pop the button on her jeans. “Please.”

Hadley nodded while the sunlight danced across her body. Amelia couldn’t have asked for a better moment, a better yes. But Hadley naked was a glorious thing, all soft skin and long limbs and dips and valleys and curves and old scars from falling out of trees or off bicycles. Amelia remembered a lot of them and set about pressing her lips to every single one.

Hadley tipped her head back and sighed as Amelia kissed her way across all those memories. The hands in her hair were gentle, reverent. And every time Hadley squirmed in delight or shied away out of sensitivity, Amelia remembered. A new set of memories to catalog with the old, but all of them making up the things that were her. Them. Together.

One month later

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