Chapter 20
Harper traced her fingers over Maya’s chest, drawing meaningless patterns on her t-shirt.
She wouldn’t wake. Harper might be a late riser, but Maya put her to shame. In the week since she first stepped into Maya’s apartment, Harper had spent every morning in her bed. And she always woke up first.
This had become a routine of sorts. Touching her. Lightly, and for no real reason. Just to feel her. And the faint, slow beat of her heart.
That had been surprising. That Maya had a heartbeat. Harper’s assumptions of vampires prior to meeting one had painted them as dead, cold creatures, brooding under the weight of a tortured past.
For Maya, only that last part was true. Even though the extent wasn’t clear. And the worry spawned from that unknown went far too deep for what this was supposed to be.
Harper had always considered herself sensible when it came to romance. Not reasonable, as her history of awful relationships rendered that descriptor moot. But sensible fit. If you squinted a little.
It might just be comparison making her favor that term. Nell always fell into her relationships heart first and, present one notwithstanding, Evie did the opposite. They either got too involved or didn’t get involved at all.
Harper usually settled between the two. Involved enough to enjoy the honeymoon period, but still so distant that she didn’t cry when it ended in a plane crash.
But the feeling that had grown over the past week wasn’t sensible.
It didn’t fit what this was. The fun stage, which was the only one Harper was any good at.
They had already gotten close to going past it the very first night they spent together, and if Harper hadn’t pivoted then, she would have broken this before it started.
Her past relationships being horrible wasn’t only the fault of her partners. Sometimes she just couldn’t handle it when they became too caring. Too gentle.
Neither term fit her jagged edges. Embracing her produced wounds. People could push through it in the beginning, but not in the long term. It was better, safer, to close her heart and end things before someone got hurt.
And yet, she found herself hoping. Thinking. Fantasizing.
Maya muttered in her sleep and rolled onto her stomach. Her hand reached out, not stopping its search until it brushed against Harper’s waist.
“What time is it?” she grumbled. Harper paused for a moment before putting on a flirty tone.
“Almost noon. Which means I have to get going. I’ve actually needed to get going for a while, and I nearly overslept.” She poked Maya’s nose. “I blame you for that.”
Maya snorted, eyes still closed.
She was to blame. Their definition of ‘sleeping together’ happened to be cardio-like in intensity.
“Blame yourself for making early plans.”
“I don’t think anyone would refer to this timeslot as ‘early.’” Harper swung her legs off the bed. “And because of you tiring me out, I don’t have time to run by my apartment. I’m stealing some of your clothes.”
She got up, moving through the studio. She was wearing just her underwear and her tank top from the day before—neither of which she felt like wearing for her afternoon outing.
The Chains had gotten her set up in an apartment building near the high-rise. They’d been offered places of their own, but Harper and Nell had asked if they could share an apartment instead. A barren apartment, a fact being remedied by them finally going furniture shopping.
Evie was coming, too. Which was why Harper spending time on those secret caresses was impractical. While Evie knew about her and Maya, since they weren’t exactly subtle, she did her best not to think about it. Seeing Harper in the same clothes as the day before would make that difficult.
“I don’t have anything in your size.” Maya pushed onto her elbows as Harper opened the closet. “You won’t have much luck. In fact, I doubt you’d even find—”
Harper peeled off her tank top and threw it on the floor. She arched an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?”
Maya’s eyes flicked down Harper’s body. Lingering on her stomach, her ribs, and finally her naked chest.
“Nothing. Pick whatever you want.” Maya grinned. “Just do it slowly.”
Harper smirked back at her before scanning the closet for potential. Maya’s preference for t-shirts and jeans was kind of screwing her here. Anything she picked would be oversized, meaning she’d have to stick with her own bra and pants.
But she could make it work. And she kind of liked the idea of wearing Maya’s clothes.
“How long will you be gone?” Maya sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Harper pulled on a pair of boxers.
She leafed through a stack of neatly folded t-shirts. “Not sure. Nell’s made a packed itinerary. But, knowing her, she’ll forget it the moment she finds something shiny.”
Nell was like a crow when it came to trinkets. She always got distracted, so they’d probably end up doubling the time set aside for shopping. And they were going to the Lotus afterwards. Time lost all meaning in there.
“Then I won’t see you until tomorrow.” Maya held out her hand. Harper followed the silent request, returning to the bed where she stood between Maya’s knees, facing her. “I’m working a late shift. I’ll be busy at the bar most of tonight.”
They both knew what busy meant. Since Court was open and only members of the Chains were allowed in the high-rise, Maya’s section would be void of people.
Maya had explained it as a punishment of sorts. She hadn’t followed protocol when she got them out of St. Louis, so she was supposed to keep her head down until the Regents could figure out how to discipline her.
Just thinking about that morning made Harper’s heart race. The chaos and carnage of it all. And the thought of what could have happened if Maya hadn’t interfered.
Though, the brutal way she’d interfered didn’t exactly match the woman now placing soft kisses on Harper’s stomach.
She ran her hand through Maya’s hair. “Do you want me to stop by? Keep you company?”
“More than anything. But you’re in high demand. Nell and Evie need you, too.” Maya teased her fingers over Harper’s thighs. “Your smile is always a little brighter when you’ve been around them. I won’t stand in the way of that.”
Harper stopped caressing her hair. She wasn’t sure why, but she’d expected something different. Something less fucking sweet, for one.
Was this what normal relationships were like? This… easy? This void of drama and conflict? The venomous part of her was tempted to inject it into the conversation, simply because it would make it feel more familiar.
Instead, Harper crawled onto the bed, grabbed Maya’s face in a hard kiss, and toppled her over on the mattress. Or, rather, Maya let herself be toppled.
All these mushy feelings had gotten involved, and Harper didn’t know how to deal with them. It required talking, and letting herself loose in that arena never ended well.
This, however… This she could do. And going by Maya’s chuckling, it was effective.
At first. In a breath, Maya reversed their positions, putting Harper on her back.
“What happened to you needing to leave?”
Harper smirked. “I can be a few minutes late.”
“And I made it clear that I’m not okay with having you for just a few minutes.”
Maya leaned down, lips almost touching Harper’s, when a wolfish smile slipped onto her face. Rather than kiss her, she tickled her waist instead.
Harper squealed, then giggled as she tried to twist away.
“Stop! Stop, that’s not okay!”
“Why would I stop? When you’re making such a pretty noise?”
She muted Harper’s breathless laughter by giving her a kiss. A far more tender kiss than Harper had hoped for, especially since her tickling transitioned into caresses.
“You’re being mean again,” Harper muttered.
Maya kissed the side of her neck. The hollow of her throat. Then, the tip of her nose.
“I’m aware. But I don’t think you mind. And, apparently, I get to be mean for a few more minutes.”
Harper almost groaned. Being a tease was her thing. That Maya could more than match her was annoying as hell.
“You have terrain advantage.” Harper’s voice was only a little uneven. “If you didn’t, this would go very differently.”
“Don’t be so sure. Even if you put on your most seductive show, I doubt it would have an effect.”
Harper gaped. “As if! I say this with the utmost disrespect. If I cornered you in a professional setting, I would drain your wallet dry.”
“I disagree. I’ve seen your tricks. I know what to expect.”
“You haven’t seen shit. What I used on the floor of the Penny was basic, at best.” Harper scowled at the ceiling. “Wouldn’t have an effect… Unbelievable.”
“You’ll have to test me sometime. I can prove just how easy you are to handle.”
Harper changed her focus, scowling at Maya instead. “You wouldn’t last two minutes, smartass.”
Surprisingly, Maya just grinned. Though, it shouldn’t be surprising at all. No matter what Harper did, how much she prodded and poked, Maya took it all in stride. Without a hint of frustration.
Weird. A descriptor that was very hard to focus on when Maya closed the gap between them and kissed her again. When she sighed against her lips, a noise Harper couldn’t help but echo.
Unfortunately, Maya’s brand of meanness was very, very lovely.