Page 59 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
“Good.” Mia’s hands tightened on Lauren’s waist, drawing her in until their breasts pressed together, much like they had that night in the doorway. And then she kissed her, slow and thorough, until Lauren could barely form coherent thoughts. Nothing existed but the pleasure of Mia’s mouth and the need blazing in her core, heightened with every shift of her hips over Mia’s.
Lauren took the opportunity to run her fingers through Mia’s hair, familiarizing herself with its soft depths. She reveled in the way Mia whimpered when Lauren kissed the tender skin below her ear. She loved that Mia’s gasping breaths sounded increasingly desperate and the way her fingers gripped Lauren’s hips, dragging her ever closer.
“Okay, okay,” Mia gasped as she broke the kiss. Her lips were puffy and pink, and a hot flush had spread over her chest. “This isn’t taking it slow.”
“Right.” Regretfully, Lauren slid out of her lap. As much as she wanted to keep going, Mia was right to slow them down. Not even an hour ago, she’d been on a date with another woman.
“I…” Mia blinked at her out of lust-drunk eyes. “I should get changed out of this dress. Actually, I think I need a shower to cool off first.” She leaned over to give Lauren another quick kiss, and then she stood and went into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Lauren just sat there, her body thrumming with desire and grinning so wide her cheeks hurt, because yeah, that really happened.
* * *
Mia strippedout of her clothes, leaving her dress on the bathroom floor. Her fingers shook as she twisted the knob to turn on the shower. Her evening had taken a most unexpected—andhot—detour. She’d had such high hopes for her date with Beth, and it had been nothing but a disappointment. Now, here she was, so turned on, she could hardly think straight because of Lauren.
God, Lauren could kiss. Mia touched her lips. They were tender beneath her fingers, bruised from the intensity of what she and Lauren had shared. Deep down, Mia had worried her first kiss after Kristin might be awkward or even lackluster. After eighteen years, it was hard to remember what a first kiss even felt like.
She remembered now, and…well, she was pretty sure she’d never had a first kiss as intense or wonderful as this one. She stepped into the shower, exhaling as hot water rushed over her body. She’d intended to use the shower to cool off, but as the water teased her hypersensitive nipples, it only stoked the fire blazing inside her.
The ache in her core was unrelenting. Not only had it been over a year since she’d had sex, but she hadn’t even had an orgasm since Lauren moved in. Lola was still demanding that Mia leave her bedroom door open at night, and she couldn’t masturbate without privacy. Consequently, her make-out session with Lauren had left her desperate for release. Generally, she depended on her vibrator when she was alone, but right now, she was so worked up that her fingers should be more than enough to get the job done.
She slid her right hand between her thighs, bracing her left against the wall of the shower. A surge of electricity jolted her system as she made contact with her clit, and she barely held in a groan. Pressing her lips firmly together to keep herself quiet, she rubbed frantically, eager for relief and also to keep this quick so Lauren didn’t realize what she was doing.
She luxuriated in the memory of their kiss, of Lauren’s fingers on her skin and how it might feel if Lauren was touching her now. In minutes, Mia was gasping, hips jerking against her fingers as her orgasm rushed through her.
It wasn’t that powerful, partly because she’d rushed things and partly because it had been a while. Still, she felt boneless with relief, hands braced against the tiles as muscles that had been coiled with tension finally relaxed. She could breathe freely now. She could think clearly. And she was grinning like an idiot.
Once she’d caught her breath, she rinsed off and stepped out of the shower. She dressed in lounge pants and a long-sleeved tee and towel-dried her hair. Then she went into the living room. Lauren sat where she’d left her, reading something on her phone.
“Better?” she asked.
Mia’s cheeks burned before she realized Lauren was asking if she’d cooled off in the shower. She nodded, dropping onto the couch beside her. This was the potentially awkward part of dating a friend who was currently sharing her apartment. There was no separation, no chance to go home and decompress.
But she didn’t want space right now. She was glad Lauren was here. It seemed Mia never got tired of spending time with her, although now she was hyperaware of the current running between them. It made her body hum as she sat beside her.
“Were you working on your book when I came in earlier?” she asked.
Lauren nodded. “I’m almost ready to send it to the editor I hired. And Quinn offered to make me a cover. Shit’s getting real.”
“That’s wonderful,” Mia said. “Have you decided on a release date?”
Lauren shook her head. “I don’t want to commit to anything until after my court date. Since I don’t really have a following yet or anything, I think I’ll just upload it when it’s ready and see what happens.”
“You do have a following,” Mia countered. “You have so many readers from your fanfic, and I’m sure they’ll want to support you as a published author too.”
“You think?” Lauren asked, looking hesitant. “I wasn’t sure whether to connect my published work to my fandom accounts.”
“You can have separate social media accounts. I’m sure it’s smart to brand everything to your pen name, but then you should share it on your fandom accounts so people can follow you and support your published work.”
“I don’t want to feel like I’m pressuring people to buy my book.”
“You aren’t,” Mia assured her. “You’re just letting them know about your book so they can buy it if they want. And I bet they will.”
“Okay. Maybe you’re right.”
“I usually am.” She nudged her elbow against Lauren’s. “So how are you feeling about things? About going on a date with me?”
Lauren’s smile was both bashful and joyous. “Pretty damn excited.”
