Chapter 25 #2
Emma felt her cheeks heat. “Oh, stop it.”
“It’s true,” Vanessa dipped her head and pressed a kiss just beneath Emma’s collarbone. She lingered, inhaling deeply, before resting her forehead against Emma’s shoulder. “I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier…about this not being what I signed up for.”
Emma sighed. “Vanessa.”
“Hey.” Vanessa’s voice was gentle, her hand sliding up to rest over Emma’s heart. “You don’t need to walk on eggshells with me. I just need you to know that there isn’t a version of our life where anything makes me want to run.”
Emma exhaled slowly, the words settling over her like a weighted blanket. Safe, secure, and just what she needed. “Nobody expected this. Least of all me. And I know it’s not just my life that’s going to change if Freya becomes a real part of it. It’s ours. I worry it’s going to take a toll on us.”
Vanessa lifted her head and locked eyes with Emma’s. “It won’t. Do you want to know why?”
Emma gave a small nod.
“Because we already know how to do hard things together. We’ve done it before. And this? This isn’t something I see as a burden. She’s your sister, Emma. Which means in some way, she’s mine too. That’s how this works with us. We don’t split our lives down the middle. We share them.”
“Thanks, babe. For understanding.”
Vanessa brushed her thumb along Emma’s jawline. “We’ll figure it all out as it comes at us. Together. No one’s keeping score here.”
Emma swallowed past the lump in her throat. “God, I love you.”
Vanessa smiled and leaned in, kissing her slowly, the kind of kiss that said more than either of them could manage in words.
When they drew apart, Vanessa stayed close, her breath warm against Emma’s lips.
“Does this mean you’re done worrying for the night?
Because I can think of a few better ways to spend the rest of it. ”
Emma laughed, her earlier unease fading under the weight of that familiar spark between them. “Yeah,” she murmured as she pulled Vanessa back into her arms. “I think I am.”
Vanessa’s mouth found hers again, this time without the earlier urgency, moving with a kind of patience that made Emma’s toes curl beneath the sheets.
Her hand slid over Emma’s hip, her fingers splaying possessively against her bare skin as though she couldn’t decide whether to soothe Emma or claim her.
Emma breathed her in, every kiss tasting faintly of the wine they’d shared earlier, every touch deliberate and unhurried. Vanessa shifted closer, their bodies aligning, the heat between them sparking back to life in a way that felt inevitable.
“Fuck, I love you like this,” Emma murmured against her lips.
“Like what?” Vanessa’s voice was a whisper, her lips brushing Emma’s jaw as her hand travelled upwards, cupping her breast with a gentle squeeze that sent a pulse of heat straight to Emma’s pussy.
“When you slow down. When it feels like we have all night and nothing else matters.”
Vanessa’s smile may have been soft, but her eyes were hungrier than they had been all night. “We do have all night.”
Her lips found Emma’s neck, each kiss warm and lingering, her teeth grazing just enough to make Emma gasp.
She arched into Vanessa’s touch, her fingers threading through Vanessa’s hair as she urged her lower.
The duvet shifted with them, the world outside their bedroom falling away until there was only the rustle of fabric, the soft sound of their breathing, and the steady rhythm of Vanessa’s lips and hands mapping her body.
Emma closed her eyes and let herself feel—really feel—every brush of skin and every point where their bodies met. Vanessa’s touch was confident but never rushed, drawing out each sigh and shiver like she was cataloguing them and storing them for later.
When Vanessa’s hand finally slid between her thighs, Emma’s breath caught, and her hips lifted instinctively to meet her. She felt her wife smile against her skin, the quiet satisfaction in the way Vanessa seemed to know exactly what she needed without being told.
Vanessa slowly coaxed pleasure out of her in steady waves until Emma’s fingers curled into the sheets, her body strung tight and ready to give.
“Breathe,” Vanessa whispered as she teased her clit.
Emma did, holding onto her as the tension broke and heat spilled through her in a way that left her breathless all over again. She let the aftershocks surge through her, clinging to the steady beat of Vanessa’s heart beneath her ear when she gathered her close.
The room fell silent, and for the first time tonight, Emma’s brain shut off, too. Vanessa stroked lazy circles along her back, their legs tangled, the air between them thick with that post-release haze that made their life outside the bedroom seem impossibly far away.
Emma tightened her grip on Vanessa and sighed. “You always know how to make me feel safe.”
“That’s because you are safe.” Vanessa kissed her hair. “With me, in this marriage. No matter what else is going on, you’ll always be safe.”
Emma’s chest swelled with that truth. She relaxed in Vanessa’s arms, their earlier conversation still lingering but stripped of its weight. Because right now, with the warmth of her wife’s skin against hers and the whisper of her breath, nothing felt more certain than them.