Chapter 21 #2
“When your mum made that comment about happiness…” New tears stung at the corners of Eris’ eyes. She pushed them back, but there was no keeping her voice from cracking. “That’s how you grew up, Denny? With people who told you you could do anything you wanted, as long as it made you happy?”
“Yes.” Denny clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob. Now she was the one hiccupping and Eris the one rubbing her hand.
“Stop crying, dummy.”
“You’re crying, too!” Denny protested.
“Right.” Eris coughed out a croaky laugh. “Blows my mind to see parents who care so much about their children.”
“I hate your parents.” Eris gave her the handkerchief. “Kids are optional, do people not know that?” Denny blew her nose. “Don’t have them if you can’t love them.”
Her anger narrowed that crack that had opened inside Eris during the dinner.
She’d wished countless times that she’d never been born, to go to sleep and never wake up, to be the victim of a fatality at work…
But now that she was here, with this woman ugly crying for her, she was glad she’d made it this far.
Just getting to know Denny had been a privilege.
Having her love was a gift worth every stage of hell destiny had put her through.
She would’ve braved it all over again, ten, fifteen, a hundred times worse if she got to find Denny at the end of the line.
She grabbed Denny’s chin, turned her face to brush her lips with a smiley kiss. “All that shite got me here. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Denny released a little laugh. The crack in Eris’ chest shrank further, growing so thin it was barely there at all.
With Denny, everything was easier. Until not long ago, Eris had believed she’d magically stopped limping after meeting her. She hadn’t. She was just walking by someone who didn’t have any problem with an unconventional gait.
Unless the unconventional gait was her own. They were still working on that.
Denny laced her fingers through Eris’. “You know when I said I wasn’t planning to marry you within a year? That might have been a rushed statement.”
Eris couldn’t help a chuckle. “Careful there. What if another hopeless case shows up and sweeps you off your feet?”
“You think I couldn’t handle two?”
“Why stop at two?”
“I have but two arms, my love.”
“And both are claimed.”
“So selfish.”
“I don’t take my luck for granted.”
“Neither do I.”
Denny was silent for a bit. Her profile would never cease to be mesmerising: the sharp cut of the jaw, the slight bump halfway down the elegant slope of the nose, the light overhead catching in the dark gold of the eyelashes…
She pressed her lips together, a faint sigh easing out of her nostrils.
“When I realised I was falling in love with you, I didn’t care whether you loved me back or not.
As long as you stayed, I’d be happy.” A small wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows.
“I would’ve never dared to hope for anything more. ”
“Such a drama queen,” Eris huffed, giving her a little headbutt. “I’d give my life for you.”
“Right back at you.”
They clambered to their feet. In spite of the heated floor and the towel, Eris was covered in goosebumps.
“Get into the shower. I’ll clean up here.”
There were smudges of blood on the sink, on the cabinets below it. The waste of the medication littered the ground.
Her hand hurt. Denny had to help her out of the sports bra. She kept her eyes low, as if modesty had ever been a concern between them. She was still refusing to look when the knickers, too, dropped. Eris remembered all that objectification nonsense.
The walk-in shower was so large that Eris couldn’t reach the mixer valve without fully stepping in, but the water here only took a couple of seconds to warm up.
Eris poked her head out of the glass. “Can you pass me a hair tie?”
Denny hesitated briefly. She dumped all the rubbish into the sink and opened a drawer—the wrong one. At the third try, she successfully produced one of Eris’ hair ties and brought it to her.
“Cheers.” Eris rolled her hair up in a bun. As she did so, Denny’s attention flew to her biceps and immediately fled lower, perhaps forgetting that Eris was naked. Her breath hitched.
“See something you fancy?”
Denny blushed. “Sorry, I just—”
A shrill gasp broke out of her as Eris pulled her inside.
Denny held on to Eris’ arms, meeting her halfway in a kiss so ardent that they stumbled backwards under the water.
Eris shivered as her back collided with the cold tiles.
She sought bare skin under the layers of Denny’s soggy clothes.
Chiselled abs filled her palms, contracting as she explored them.
“First time I get you in bed I’m going to ride myself to heaven on this six-pack.”
Denny choked out a laugh. “Why are you—” Eris’ teeth sank into her lip, drawing a moan out of her. “—such a brat?”
Her kisses still tasted like salt and were as frantic as her grip on Eris’ sides was strong and commanding. When the kiss broke, Eris tried to rekindle it, but Denny pressed her nose into her cheek, panting heavily.
“Can I touch you?”
Arousal flared between Eris’ legs. “I might die if you don’t.”
She moved Denny’s hands to her breasts. Denny kneaded the tender flesh and Eris arched, chasing the sensation. She was so sensitive it was getting painful.
Denny got the message. Her hands dropped, one to Eris’ hip, the other plunging between her thighs. Eris hissed at the sudden friction. She was already wet enough that the tips of Denny’s fingers slipped inside her at the slightest brush.
“God, Eris. How—”
Eris smirked through a blissful sigh. She’d never heard Denny curse before. She was a sight to behold, pink cheeks and hazy, heavy-lidded eyes.
“Just because I’m not constantly all over you, doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about it.” Her lips locked on the crook of Denny’s neck, sucking at it with a hint of teeth that coaxed a raspy moan. “C’mon, Sunshine. Take what you want.”
Denny obeyed, easing a second finger in, without conviction.
“I’m clothed,” she mumbled apologetically.
Eris sneaked a hand behind Denny’s neck and drew her down to her lips. “Knuckle down, Gardenia.”
Denny took her literally. Her fingers twisted just right, knuckles hitting that sweet spot that sent a jolt of pleasure across Eris’ body.
“You need to forget about that name,” she whispered in Eris’ ear. The ball of her hand rubbed beautifully over Eris’ clit at every thrust and twist of her fingers.
“Keep that up and I’ll forget my own.”
It seemed that Denny had already figured her all out, because her movements became bolder and more precise. Her breath was short, too. The closer she pushed Eris to the edge, the higher her own pleasure climbed.
“Not gonna last.” Eris braced against the glass with the injured hand to meet Denny’s thrusts at a better angle, barely aware of the burning pain. The other hand was holding on to Denny’s shoulder, probably a bit too roughly. “You’re doing amazing, Sunshine.”
“Rumour has it I’m good at this.”
“No shit. Fuck, Denny.”
Eris came with a soft cry. Her knees buckled.
Denny caught her, held her up, watching her through dripping bangs.
It took a while for Eris to squint her into focus.
She was tingly all over and blissfully boneless.
Denny scrutinising her so tenderly with those pleasure-glazed eyes might be the most moving thing she’d ever seen.
She ran a hand up Denny’s inner thigh, the soaked dress pooling upon her wrist. “Let me—”
Denny’s jaw went slack with a mute gasp when Eris brushed the cotton of her knickers. A hint of eagerness quickly became uneasiness.
“Can we just shower?”
Eris withdrew her hand. “Yeah.” She kept her tone soft but firm. She never wanted to hear that sheepishness from Denny again. “Yeah, we can.”
She shut off the water. They’d turned the bathroom into a steam room, in more ways than one.
She’d be lying if she’d said she wasn’t ready and willing to bring the steam to the bedroom and keep going all night, but this was ultimately Denny’s decision, and Denny had said enough.
Eris was more than happy with just showering.
She tugged at Denny’s drenched cardigan. “Let me help you out of these clothes, yeah?”
Denny nodded. Together, they peeled the garments off and tossed them out. Eris granted herself a moment to admire Denny’s stunning physique. The golden glow of her skin, the long, sculpted limbs, the small breasts, so perfectly round… Such an accurate reflection of the beauty she had inside.
“See anything you like?” Denny quipped.
“Yeah.” Eris pulled her to the centre of the shower, flipped the water back on. “But that never required taking your clothes off.”