Page 56 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
“I understand,” Beth said. “If you change your mind, you’ve got my number. And you’ll see me at the café regardless.” She gave Mia the kind of flirty smile that had caught her attention in the first place.
“I will.” Mia squeezed her hand before she walked away.
Her apartment was only six blocks from here, so she decided to walk. She needed to clear her head, because right now, her thoughts were in chaos. She’d just walked away from the perfect rebound relationship.Ugh.Why was she self-sabotaging herself like this?
By the time she reached her building, she was angry. Frustrated. Both, probably. Irrationally, she wished Lauren wouldn’t be waiting in the living room, because she’d want to hear all about Mia’s date, and what could she possibly tell her?
She pushed her key into the door, shoving with more force than necessary as she let herself into the building. Her heart was pounding, and her stomach felt jittery again. She understood why people called it butterflies, because there was definitely a fluttery sensation beneath her ribs. But why was she nervous now, walking into her own damn apartment?
She got her answer when she pushed the door open and saw Lauren sitting on the couch in her kitten pajamas with Mia’s laptop balanced on her knees, typing away. She looked up with a bright smile, and Mia lost her breath. Her pulse raced, and the butterflies in her stomach took flight, sending a jolt of something heady and warm through her system.
Lauren closed the laptop, gesturing for Mia to sit beside her on the couch. “How was your date with Beth? I want to hear everything.”
Mia sat, her mouth suddenly dry. “It was…underwhelming.”
“Oh, no.” Lauren turned those big brown eyes on her, and Mia lost what little common sense she had left. “What happened?”
“She…” Mia could hear herself breathing, ragged as if she’d just left the gym. Her gaze dropped to Lauren’s lips, and they seemed closer now. Had Lauren leaned in, or had she? Mia knew what she’d seen on Lauren’s face that night after her nightmare, and she saw it again now. Yearning. Desire.
Mia had needed to be sure that Lauren felt it too, and she had her answer. She couldn’t keep fighting this. As heat flared in the pit of her stomach, burning away her self-control, she couldn’t remember a single reason why she’d ever thought kissing Lauren was a bad idea.
“She what?” Lauren whispered.
“She wasn’t you.”
Lauren blinked, inhaling sharply. “Oh.”
“Right,” Mia croaked. She knew she leaned forward then, close enough to smell her own shampoo in Lauren’s hair and feel the warmth of Lauren’s breath on her cheeks. Close enough for Lauren to realize what was happening. Mia paused there, giving Lauren a chance to stop this if she didn’t want it to happen, giving them both one last chance to put on the brakes before they crossed the point of no return.
But Lauren just stared at her out of big hopeful eyes. Her lips parted.
Mia couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. She was helpless to fight the current drawing her in. Her lips brushed Lauren’s, and she moaned in relief.
Because this…this was right. This was wonderful. This waseverything.
16
“Oh,” Lauren gasped as Mia’s lips met hers. Ohyes. Mia’s lips were hesitant at first, so soft, so gentle. Her eyes were shut, her features a mixture of desire and confusion, as if she wasn’t sure what she was doing, and that made two of them. Lauren had never expected Mia to come home from her date and kiss her, but she had, and talk about a happy surprise…
“I’m sorry,” Mia whispered against her lips. “I don’t know what—”
“Shh, I don’t either, but I want it. I want it so much, Mia.”
Mia’s exhale was a whimper. Her hands cupped Lauren’s cheeks, cool from the outside air and yet somehow also warm. “The entire time I was with Beth, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
Her lips pressed more insistently against Lauren’s as the kiss went from tender to urgent. Mia’s tongue traced the seam of Lauren’s lips, and she opened to her, tasting red wine in the heat of her mouth. Lauren leaned forward, resting a hand on Mia’s thigh, realizing with a shocked inhale that Mia wasn’t wearing tights beneath her dress despite the chill outside.
Lauren’s pulse kicked as her fingers met Mia’s bare skin, an insistent ache building low in her belly. There was something vaguely desperate about their kiss now, hands grasping, lips moving messily, both of them pausing sporadically to gasp for air. It was hot and heady, maybe the hottest kiss of Lauren’s life. One of Mia’s hands had wandered down to settle against the curve of Lauren’s waist, fingers fisted in the fabric of her T-shirt.
Beautiful, sophisticated Mia—who’d just come from a date with a woman who should have been everything she wanted—was kissing Lauren like she couldn’t get enough, like she never wanted to stop, like she’d been fantasizing about this as much as Lauren had.
When they finally broke apart, Mia’s lips were slightly swollen, and her eyes were dazed. There was a hunger gleaming in their mocha depths that only added to the arousal already blazing inside Lauren. Mia’s chest rose and fell rapidly, drawing Lauren’s attention to the way that dress highlighted her collarbones and the swell of her breasts.
And she could look. She could look because Mia had kissed her, and now Lauren didn’t have to hide her attraction anymore. She dragged her gaze slowly back to Mia’s eyes, giddy to let her see Lauren checking her out.
Mia blinked at her, seemingly at a loss for words. Her hand was still on Lauren’s waist, and they were leaned in close, so close Lauren could smell the soft scent of Mia’s perfume and feel the warmth of her breath as she exhaled.
“That was…amazing,” Lauren whispered.
