Epilogue
One year later
Sabine was rarely late for anything, which was fortunate because Talia was rarely on time. It had taken two months of long-distance dating and another ten months of living together in Belltown overlooking Elliot Bay, where ferries slid across the water, to realize that.
“Where are you?” Sabine asked into the phone.
She had it wedged between her shoulder and ear while she lit the candle on the marble island.
It was the short, round fig and cedar candle that Talia had shown up with last Sunday morning, along with a coffee and a paper bag of pastries that Sabine couldn’t inhale fast enough.
She’d come off a brutal overnight ER shift and honestly, the best part hadn’t been the caffeine, or the buttery croissants.
It had been Talia climbing back into bed to cuddle up with her.
“It starts in forty-five minutes.”
“I’m coming up the elevator,” Talia said cheerily, completely unrepentant about being a few minutes late to date night.
Which tonight wasn’t taking place at their favorite spot, La Stella Mare, where the servers knew their wine order.
Tonight’s date was at home. The second season of Outlast Her was finally airing.
Both Talia and Sabine had been buzzing with excitement for weeks.
Especially after the shock of last season’s win. Talia still couldn’t believe it.
The call ended and almost immediately there was the familiar jangle of keys outside the door.
Before Sabine could pick up the bottle of Meiomi Pinot Noir, Talia walked in and dropped her gym bag to the floor with a thud.
She looked exactly like herself after a long day at the pool followed by her own workout at the gym.
Her hair was twisted into a low knot. She was wearing black athletic shorts and a rain-speckled Seattle Heights High School hoodie that had COACH printed on the back in white letters.
She kicked off her bright teal Nikes and walked over to Alfred’s cat tree, where he was languidly stretched out, and nuzzled his fur with her cheek.
“You always greet Alfred before you greet me,” Sabine said, pouring them each a glass of wine.
On the stove, creamy tomato basil soup simmered, and in the fridge sat a platter of prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella bites and roasted red pepper hummus that Sabine was going to serve with crisp pita triangles.
She’d taken the day off and prepared a baked mac and cheese with a crispy breadcrumb topping especially for tonight.
“Are you jealous?” Talia asked, smiling crookedly.
She walked over to Sabine and kissed her so thoroughly that Sabine’s toes curled, and her chest felt impossibly full.
“Because you shouldn’t be,” she murmured against her lips.
“I have a much better greeting for you. Dinner will have to wait. Forty-five minutes gives me just enough time to greet you properly. I’m quite confident you will no longer have a problem with me saying hello to Alfred first.”
She grabbed Sabine’s hand and twirled her around the kitchen.
There wasn’t any music playing, but there might as well have been a full orchestra.
They danced between the marble island and the stove, brushing against each other and laughing when Talia almost tripped on the rug.
Then Talia caught sight of the time—it was now exactly forty-one minutes before eight—and spun Sabine down the hall to the master bathroom.
Talia turned on the shower, then turned to hook her fingers into the waistband of Sabine’s linen pants. Steam fogged the glass panels as the shower roared to life, but she didn’t bother adjusting the temperature yet. Not when Sabine’s cheeks were already flushed.
“You’re sweaty from the gym,” Sabine protested, though her hands found Talia’s hips and her thumbs slipped under the hem of her hoodie.
“And you’re overdressed for an at-home date night.” Talia backed her against the fogged glass, the chill of it seeping through Sabine’s thin shirt. “Arms up, Doctor. Let’s fix that.”
Sabine’s eyebrow arched, but she complied, palms flattening high above her head.
The pose stretched her torso taut, revealing the faint scar below her ribs—a souvenir from a surfing wipeout Talia had teased her about for months.
Talia pulled her own hoodie off slowly, letting the fabric catch on her elbows before tossing it aside.
Her sports bra followed, then the shorts.
Each movement was deliberate as she kept her gaze locked on Sabine’s.
“Are you enjoying putting on a little show?” Sabine’s voice wavered as Talia stepped closer.
“Almost as much as you’ll enjoy your punishment for doubting my time management.
” Talia’s thumbs skated up Sabine’s sides, peeling the shirt over her head.
She fumbled with the clasp of Sabine’s bra, her fingers slipping once before freeing her breasts.
Before Sabine could even catch a breath or respond, Talia’s hands dropped to her waistband, popped the button, and dragged the linen pants down in one unhurried pull.
Sabine stepped out of them, left in nothing but the lacy black thong Talia had bought her last week.
“You wore these tonight just to tease me, didn’t you?” Talia hooked her fingers into the sides of the thong and eased it down Sabine’s legs, leaving her bare before she guided her toward the shower.
Sabine’s smirk dissolved into a gasp as Talia’s teeth grazed her neck. Still kissing her, Talia backed them into the oversized shower, and a rush of hot water spilled over her shoulders as she drew Sabine fully under the spray.
Soap slicked between their bodies as Talia washed both herself and Sabine, palms circling every dip and curve. She took her time with Sabine’s hair, massaging lavender-scented lather into her scalp until the doctor’s head tipped back.
“You smell delicious,” Talia murmured, rinsing suds from her hair.
Sabine’s hands slid down to grip her waist, but Talia caught her wrists, pinning them back against the tile. “Ah-ah. You don’t get to run the show tonight. I’m on a time crunch, so let me finish and we’ll still make it to the sofa with dinner in hand before the opening theme song.”
She kissed her way down Sabine’s body, lingering at the pulse point beneath her ear, the hollow where her ribs met sternum, and then to the quivering plane of her stomach. When she finally knelt, Sabine’s thighs trembled against her.
“I take back what I said about Alfred,” Sabine said as she gripped strands of Talia’s hair. “I’ll always take the second hello if this is what it leads to.”
Talia’s tongue traced Sabine’s inner thigh. “Good. Now forget the cat and let me show you why your hello is my favorite.”
The first flick against her clit had Sabine’s hips jerking forward. Talia held her steady, alternating slow, flat strokes with sharp sucks until Sabine’s fingers clawed at the tile. Her thighs clenched, but Talia didn’t relent. She dragged out every shuddering breath and every plea.
When Sabine finally broke, Talia pressed soft kisses to both hips as the tremors subsided. Rising on unsteady legs, she adjusted the showerhead to rinse them both. Her smirk returned in full force.
“Now we’re both clean.” She nipped Sabine’s earlobe, reaching past her to shut off the water. Glancing up at the fogged-up mirror clock, she whispered, “And look at that... ten minutes to spare.”
Sabine’s laugh tangled with her kiss, all lingering heat and shared breath. “I love you so much it actually almost hurts. It’s like my heart is too big for my chest when you’re around.”
“You know what that sounds like to me? A perfectly healthy side effect of being completely, hopelessly in love,” Talia murmured as she dragged a towel over Sabine’s hair, and Sabine did a quick swipe down Talia’s back.
“I think you’re right. Now we’re down to eight minutes.”
They padded into the kitchen, still slightly damp and grinning.
The creamy tomato basil soup was waiting on the back burner, the baked mac and cheese stayed warm in the oven, and two untouched glasses of Meiomi Pinot Noir sat exactly where Sabine had poured them earlier.
Sabine killed the heat, ladled the soup into bowls, and pulled the bubbling mac and cheese from the oven while Talia grabbed the platter of prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella, the roasted red pepper hummus with crisp pita triangles, and shooed Alfred away from the edge of the counter.
A minute later, dinner was spread across the coffee table and the opening Outlast Her theme song floated in from the TV.
They curled into the sofa together, clean and gloriously bare under the tan sweater-knit blanket Talia tugged over them.
Sabine sank in next to her and slipped her hand between Talia’s thighs just as Vivian appeared on screen, looking as radiant as ever in an army-green two-piece.
“Welcome to Season Two of Outlast Her,” Vivian said, her voice oddly nostalgic.
“For the next twenty-eight days, you’ll face challenges that will push you in ways you can’t imagine.
The challenges you will face will reset your body, your mind, and your heart.
Hunger will make you cranky, lack of sleep will make you weak, and the heat might make you feel like you’re living in an eternal hot flash.
You will question every reason you thought it was a good idea to apply to be on this show. ”
Sabine huffed a soft laugh. “She said the exact same thing to us.”
Talia tipped her head against Sabine’s shoulder, smiling. “She forgot the best part.”
“Oh?”
“Sometimes you don’t win the million,” Talia murmured, sliding her fingers over Sabine’s. “But you win the girl.”
Book Two: Unfinished Desire