Chapter 11 #2
Aisling had returned home a little while before, but then she’d gone into her room, and Tamsin heard her close and lock the door.
She didn’t want to disturb Aisling, so she acquiesced to yet another round of stories, trying to bribe Bebe into sleeping.
Mateo had gone outside to do yardwork because Tamsin heard the mower running.
Finally, she heard Aisling emerge again, and while Bebe wasn’t asleep, she kissed the girl on the forehead.
“Love, I must use the loo. Stay with Uncle Carl and be a good girl, hmm?”
Bebe nodded and settled in—again—while Carl started reading her yet another story.
As quietly as she could, so as not to awaken the other children, Tamsin let herself out of the nursery, gently closed the door behind her, and headed down the hall to the kitchen.
Aisling was in the process of making a cup of tea, her back to the doorway. Tamsin watched her for a moment as she stood there, apparently oblivious to Tamsin’s presence, the music in her ear buds playing loudly enough that even a normal human could hear it from where Tamsin stood.
Tamsin stepped forward, reached out, and touched Aisling’s shoulder—
The jolt almost knocked Tamsin off her feet, sending ripples of gooseflesh washing up and down her body.
And sent tingles to parts of her anatomy she’d honestly assumed would never again feel pleasure, much less desire.
Aisling whirled around, scrambling backward up onto the counter, her gaze full of shock and horror.
Frozen, Tamsin stared at her. That’s when it hit her all at once.
She saw it, the way she’d seen things when she first met Maisie. Just from that brief, electric touch.
She saw the way Aisling tearfully confessed to Dewi that first afternoon Tamsin had met Aisling.
She saw the discussions with Carl, Duncan, and Badger.
The phone call from Trevor now made perfect sense to Tamsin—somehow, he’d learned about Aisling’s feelings for her, and in his sweet way tried to preemptively let her know they were okay with it.
She saw the Primes working with Aisling, their combined powers helping Aisling control herself, and—
She saw that final day at the safe house.
That Aisling was there with Maisie when she died.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tamsin whispered, barely able to force the words from her lips.
And also forcing herself not to climb up onto the counter with Aisling and into her arms.
Aisling looked somewhere between horrified and relieved. “I… I… I—”
Tamsin stepped in close, reached out and grabbed Aisling by the shirt, stood on her tiptoes, and dragged Aisling in for a kiss.
A sweet, hot, soul-encompassing kiss that made every nerve ending in Tamsin’s body stand up and sing a brilliant, joyful chorus.
Aisling returned her kiss as she attempted to lean back, tried to talk between moans, wanting to give in even as she weakly struggled to pull away.
Not breaking their kiss, Tamsin wrapped her arms around Aisling’s neck and threw herself backward, pulling Aisling off the counter with her.
They hit the floor, but Aisling turned so she took the brunt and cushioned the impact with a pained grunt, Tamsin landing on top of her, both of Aisling’s ear buds popping free and rolling somewhere on the kitchen floor.
“Yes! Please, yes, do it!” Tamsin silently begged through the quickly deepening bond winding through her soul.
“Ah, sod it!” Aisling muttered through their mate bond. She rolled on top of Tamsin, her teeth sinking into the juncture between Tamsin’s neck and left shoulder—
Tamsin buried her face against Aisling’s shirt, biting down to stifle her scream of joy, of pleasure—
—of climax, because yes, she was. She wrapped her legs around Aisling’s hips, grinding against her, tears flowing despite her eyes being tightly squeezed shut.
It was everything, infinity, new and strange, while at the same time so utterly, perfectly familiar.
She softly sobbed as she clung to Aisling, beyond words and reason, and knowing deep in her soul this was exactly what Maisie would want for her under these circumstances.
Because, were their situations reversed, it was what Tamsin would want for Maisie.
To feel love.
To feel…happy.
To not be alone.
“Mine!” Aisling rumbled through their rapidly strengthening mate bond.
Tamsin shuddered as another climax rocked her, making her squirm and whine.
“Yours!”
Tamsin was about to start ripping off her clothes when they heard a man clear his throat in the kitchen doorway.
They both looked to see Carl standing there wearing a smirk, a sleepy Bebe on his hip.
“Ladies,” he drawled. “Sorry to interrupt what I’m hoping this is, but I’ll tuck this little one in for a nap on the couch with me, put her favorite show on the TV, and Brianna, Mateo, and I’ll take care of the babies if you two want to nap this afternoon.
Preferably quietly and behind a locked bedroom door. ”
He punctuated that with an arched eyebrow that pulled a laugh from Tamsin.
The women looked at each other and in unison said, “Nap. Now.”