Chapter 18
Aspen licked the remnants of Eve’s arousal from her lips before dropping a light kiss to Eve’s swollen clit. “So good,” she purred.
“Oh my god,” Eve whimpered as she melted into the mattress, completely sated. It was an incredibly alluring look on her. “I really don’t think I can go again.”
Despite her protestations, Eve’s hips tilted toward Aspen’s mouth, and she brushed a smile of a kiss to the inside of Eve’s thigh. With nothing on their schedule before the gala that evening, they’d been making love for the better part of the morning, and while she was also beginning to feel the strain of their efforts, she wasn’t quite ready to leave the warm cocoon of their bed, either. Here, they had all the time in the world. But once they got up, it would be harder to ignore the fact that their time together was quickly running out. “Are you sure?”
Eve half-groaned, half-laughed as her hips bucked at the feeling of Aspen’s breath against her, and sighed as she reached down to comb her fingers through Aspen’s hair. “I don’t even know.”
Aspen’s eyes fluttered at the feeling of Eve’s blunt nails scratching against her scalp. Eve didn’t try to push her away or make an effort to move, so she just stayed where she was and pillowed her head on Eve’s leg. “I really like that.”
“Mm, me too,” Eve murmured, her smile evident in her voice as she continued to play with Aspen’s hair. Her fingers stilled at the sound of one of their phones buzzing with an alert from the bedside table, and she pulled her hand from Aspen’s hair as she twisted to see whose phone had interrupted them.
Aspen propped herself up on her elbows to allow Eve the freedom she needed to check their phones, and her heart ached at the tension that crept into Eve’s jaw as the potential end of the Morrisons’ radio silence ruined all the work she had done over the last twelve hours to make Eve feel cherished and loved.
“It’s yours,” Eve reported with no small amount of relief as she handed Aspen her phone.
Thank fuck, Aspen thought. She arched a brow at the sight of Kit’s name on the screen, and scooted up to rest her head on Eve’s stomach as she unlocked the phone. The feeling of Eve’s arousal rubbing against her stomach sparked a weak resurgence of desire low in her belly, but she restrained herself to a single prolonged wiggle that made Eve giggle as she made herself comfortable before settling into place.
“I know what you’re doing,” Eve drawled as she resumed playing with Aspen’s hair.
Aspen feigned ignorance as she looked up at Eve and batted her lashes innocently. “I’m getting comfortable.”
“Between my legs?”
Aspen winked at her. “Absolutely. This is, like, my new favorite place in the world,” she said, affection blooming in her chest at the way Eve rolled her eyes at her fondly in response. “Do you want me to move?”
Eve shook her head. “No.”
“Good.” Aspen kissed Eve’s stomach. “Because I really am super-comfortable.” She hummed as Eve’s fingers stroked along the side of her jaw to press a facsimile of a kiss against her lips, and sighed as she finally got around to looking at Kit’s message. “The Troublemaking Trio want to know if we’d like to go to brunch with them and then hike up to the lookout on Smuggler’s Mountain.”
“I love that you call them the Troublemaking Trio,” Eve chuckled.
“I mean, am I wrong?” Aspen smiled when Eve grinned and shook her head, and rubbed her cheek on Eve’s stomach. She was about to ask Eve if she wanted to go when a message from Jack appeared, and she sniggered.
Eve twirled a clump of Aspen’s hair around her fingers as she asked, “Do I even want to know?”
“Jack wants us to know the view is, and I quote, ‘wicked romantic’,” Aspen reported. He wasn’t wrong, it was a great view, but it was rather hilarious that he was texting her about romance when she was literally lying in bed with a gloriously naked Eve.
“Does he really think you need help on that front?” Eve mused as she dragged her fingers through the twist she’d just made.
Aspen’s pulse jumped as the little tug heralded a string of memories from the night before of Eve pulling her hair as she came so beautifully against her mouth, and she licked her lips as she looked up at Eve. “If you keep that up, I will absolutely be going down on you again, like, right now.”
A mischievous smile quirked Eve’s lips as she carded her fingers roughly through Aspen’s hair. Her smile widened when Aspen wasn’t quite able to suppress a whimper, and she gentled her touch as she playfully asked, “Keep what up?”
“I think you know what,” Aspen husked. She was gratified by the way Eve’s nipples visibly stiffened in response and, despite her threat, pushed herself up so she could capture Eve’s lips in a deep, messy kiss. “You are absolutely irresistible. Do you know that?”
Eve sighed happily when Aspen pulled away, and her eyes were soft when she whispered, “I know that I really love the way you kiss me.”
Aspen’s heart gave a happy little flutter at Eve’s use of the word love . “Me too,” she murmured as she rewarded Eve’s honesty with a slow and serious kiss that conveyed just how much she meant it.
She would have gladly spent the entire day just like this, but her stomach betrayed her by growling loudly and making its presence known. She huffed in annoyance as Eve smiled against her lips, and arched a brow as she pushed herself up onto her hands so that she was hovering above her. “Yes?” she playfully demanded.
“I…” Eve’s voice trailed off as her gaze dipped to Aspen’s chest.
Aspen’s stomach tightened at the way Eve licked her lips as she ogled her, and she bit back a groan when Eve’s hands lifted to cradle her breasts. She wasn’t quite able to stifle the hiss of pleasure that escaped her when Eve’s thumbs swept over her nipples, though, and she smirked at the can you really blame me? look Eve gave her in return. “Can I help you?”
Eve bit her lip coquettishly as she gave Aspen’s nipples a firm tweak that shot straight to her center. “I don’t know, can you?”
Aspen grinned. She fucking loved this bold, confident version of Eve. She sucked in a sharp breath when Eve tugged at her nipples, and her heart fluttered at the way Eve smiled up at her smugly, clearly pleased with the effect she was having on her. “So, we’re not doing brunch?” Aspen ventured, punctuating the question with a pointed thrust of her hips.
“Well…” Eve’s voice trailed off as she palmed Aspen’s breasts and rolled them beneath her hands. She laughed when Aspen’s stomach growled before Aspen could respond, and squeezed her breasts as she pulled herself into a half-crunch to kiss her softly. “I think you need food,” she said as she fell back to the bed, her hair fanning out around her head like a strawberry halo.
Aspen sighed as her stomach growled again in agreement. “I really fucking hate that for me,” she grumbled.
Eve giggled and reached down to lightly smack Aspen’s behind. Her eyes widened when Aspen’s hips jerked at the contact. “Ugh, I hate that for me, too,” she groaned as she squirmed away from the contact.
“Well, at the very least, I am glad we’re in agreement on that,” Aspen chuckled. She dipped down to kiss Eve softly. “Come on, beautiful. Why don’t you go get the shower warmed up for us while I text Kit to let her know that we’re in for brunch, and then we can play the rest of the day by ear. Sound good?”
Eve’s lips pursed as she sighed, making Aspen think she might suggest they stay in, but then Eve’s expression shifted into a small, amused smile as she murmured, “Yeah, that sounds great.”
“You sure?” Aspen checked.
Eve nodded. “Yeah. For as much fun as this is”—she rolled her hips and smirked when Aspen whined softly—“I actually enjoy spending time with you outside the bedroom, too.”
It was a simple enough confession, but affection still bloomed in Aspen’s chest at hearing it. Because, yeah, they were attracted to each other and sexually compatible in a way she’d honestly never experienced before—but, for her, their connection was so much more than just physical, and it was a relief to have Eve confirm that she felt the same way.
“I like that, too,” Aspen admitted, kissing her again for emphasis. Which, okay, didn’t exactly fit with the whole liking Eve even when she had clothes on thing, but Eve was here and so perfectly kissable, and she wasn’t foolish enough to squander a single moment they had together. She hummed into the kiss when Eve’s tongue dipped between her lips to deepen it, and sighed as their tongues swirled slowly together. She nuzzled Eve’s cheek when the kiss reached its inevitable end, and murmured, “You know, kissing me like that isn’t exactly selling me on the whole ‘leaving bed’ idea.”
“Me?” Eve laughed. “You started it.”
Aspen pecked her lips lightly before pushing back onto her heels so that she was kneeling between Eve’s legs. She bit her lip as she drank in the view of Eve nude and spread open before her, and let it slip free with her smile as she caressed her inner thighs. “I’d say I’m sorry about that, but it’d be a lie. I’m totally not sorry at all.”
Eve smiled and stroked a hand along Aspen’s forearm. “I’m not sorry, either.” The moment stretched between them, thick and warm with the weight of possibility until Eve shook her head and pushed to a sitting position in front of her. “You”—she kissed her softly—“are just too tempting to resist. So, I’m going to go get in the shower.”
Aspen chuckled. “Do I get to join you?”
“I mean…” Eve let her voice trail off as she rolled out of bed and padded toward the en suite.
Aspen didn’t even have it in her to be upset about the lack of an answer because she was too distracted by the view of Eve’s pert, toned behind and the sway of her hips as she waked. She smiled unapologetically when Eve paused at the door to the bathroom to glance over her shoulder at her, and her mouth went dry when Eve threw her a flirty wink and an even flirtier, “I’m sure you’ll be able to think of a way to sell me on the idea.”
Eve laughed when Aspen went absolutely slack-jawed in response, and blew her a kiss before disappearing.
“Good lord,” Aspen groaned softly to herself. She shook her head to clear it before firing off a quick text to tell Kit that they’d meet them all at the Blue House Tavern in an hour. As soon as she’d hit send, she tossed the phone aside and all but vaulted from the bed. An hour didn’t leave them a lot of time, but she’d be damned if she didn’t get at least a few more kisses in before they had to leave.