Chapter 30
Rachel
She hadn’t meant to say my love. That had been the last thing on her mind, but the words had just fallen unbidden from her mouth and now she was faced with a slightly drunken, open-mouthed Penelope.
“You… I…”
“Bed,” said Rachel firmly. “Come to bed.”
“But you said…”
“I know what I said, but I’ve had some drinks too, and we should both talk about it in the morning.”
Penny looked suspiciously at her. “Yeah?”
“I promise,” said Rachel, extending her arms again. “Come on, darling; I just want to fall asleep with you in my arms.”
“I can do that,” said Penelope, and jumped onto the bed, clambering up until she was next to Rachel. Barely had her head hit the pillow before she was out like a light.
Complete with snores.
Rachel was relieved, because it meant that she didn’t have to answer any more questions about that phrase. Because it meant that she had some time to consider why she’d said it in the first place. To interrogate what it meant before she went shooting her mouth off anymore.
Penny was curled up next to her, soft curls framing her face and her mouth slightly open. She looked like the cutest dork, and Rachel knew that she’d do anything for the submissive.
Somehow she’d fallen into a relationship with a woman that she half-suspected she might have already been in love with for a couple of months. But the last few days… getting to see how Penelope opened up for her, trusted her, well. It damn near changed everything.
If she’d thought that she cared about Penelope before, it was a hundred times more intense now that Penny was being vulnerable with her.
And sure, the sex was great. No, the sex was phenomenal . But that didn’t change the fact that this was more than sex. More than kink.
Both of them were emotionally involved in this. Emotionally invested in this thing between them that was blossoming in ways that Rachel didn’t know if Penny knew how to process.
But either way, she loved her.
And she’d promised Penelope that they’d talk about it the following morning. So, trying to ignore the scrunchy feeling in her stomach, Rachel closed her eyes and chased after dreamless sleep.
She must have achieved it at some point because she found herself blearily blinking into a suddenly sunny room as Penelope pulled back the curtains and smiled sunnily in her direction.
“Huh?” Rachel said, ever articulate.
“Morning! We slept in a bit, so I’ve made us some breakfast, but best not to waste the day!”
Rachel stared at Penelope. She looked like the same woman who’d been wobbly and ever so slightly “merry” the night before, and yet… such smiles. Such warmth.
“You’re not hungover!” accused Rachel.
“Of course not!” said Penny. “I never get hangovers!”
Rachel growled and rolled over, pulling the covers over her head.
“Do you have a hangover?” asked Penelope, lowering her voice to what she clearly thought was a more moderate volume.
“No,” said Rachel. And it was true, she didn’t. It was just early and she was sleepy still. “Just tired.”
“Ohhhhh,” said Penny, and Rachel heard her shuffle over to the window and redraw the curtains. “Why don’t you sleep in for a bit? Breakfast can be reheated in the microwave when you’re feeling a bit more human, and I might go exploring. That okay with you?”
Raising her head, Rachel offered Penelope an apologetic grimace. “You really don’t mind? Yesterday was so much fun, but there was also a lot of peopling, and I think I need a bit of recovery time.”
“Absolutely!” Penelope clambered onto the bed and crawled over so that she could drop a gentle kiss on Rachel’s lips. “You rest up, and we can catch up over lunch?”
“Perfect,” said Rachel, and then let herself fall back into the depths of slumber.