Chapter 21 #3
“So, you brought something warm for me, just in case.” I fluttered my eyelashes, feigning extreme flattery. My heart rate picked up tenfold. I had a soft spot for being taken care of. I loved opened doors, pulled-out seats, and being carried over puddles.
“And they say chivalry is dead.” I held out my hand.
Octavia snorted, unimpressed, but tugged on the mittens carefully. “You can barely bend your fingers. If you lose them, who else would get us back to shore?”
“I believe in you.” I watched her take care not to jostle my fingers too much. The skin did ache to bend, the space between my fingers embarrassingly ashy. I was usually better about carrying around lotion or Vaseline.
Octavia’s fingers grazed across my wrist, leaving hot trails in her wake.
The gloves held warmth from their time in her pocket.
While she got to work tugging on the other one, I struggled with swallowing.
Her head bent forward, gaze focused on slipping each one of my fingers into the individual sleeves.
She was slow and meticulous, perhaps enjoying the act as much as I did.
Hell, I take it if she was only enjoying it half as much.
“Alright.” She patted my now-protected palms. “Better?”
“A thousand times over.” I nodded, trying to catch her eye. She remained kneeling for a bit. I held my breath in fear that any change in position would scare her off.
When Octavia finally met my gaze, she scanned my face, on the hunt for something I wasn’t sure I had. But I was sure I’d do anything and everything to find it.
“You could have done that yourself,” she said with a hollow laugh.
“Maybe,” I whispered. “But that’s not as fun.”
Our breath came out as clouds, intermingling into puffs that smelled sweet with the unspoken.
The fog just barely lifted, revealing dots of color behind Octavia.
Trees, houses, boats. The world became defined once more, but the only details I cared about were the ones on her face.
The gentle curve of her round lips, parting to reveal the barely noticeable gap between her front teeth.
The dark pigmentation that dotted her cheeks, potential points of interest on a yet-to-be-discovered trail.
Octavia straightened, holding herself tall enough so we were almost the same height. Her hand lingered in mine. Every ounce of me wanted to lean in, so I folded. Slow and careful, so I wouldn’t scare her. She followed my lead, tilting perfectly to give me the permission I craved.
Our lips touched, slightly parted. Her mouth shielded mine like a shelter. I cupped the back of her head, holding her against me to offer some cover in return.
Somehow, she tasted sweeter this time. She let me in faster, her hot tongue sweeping across mine. Back at the inn, we’d been confined by space and time. Here in this pocket dimension, time ceased to exist.
The wind picked up, pushing against us as if it approved. Urging us closer for a lovely excuse to hold on for longer, explore one another more deeply.
Octavia’s hands wrapped around my waist. Her body pressed against mine, stoking more fire in this windswept storm.
I wrapped my thighs around her midsection, a plea to stay longer so she’d be safe from potential incoming rain.
Our hands grew restless, jealous of the pleasure our lips were taking part in. So, we explored.
Her bare fingers slipped under my top, nails tracing along my sides and up to the straps of my bra. She hooked her fingers into the back of them, playing with the thick elastic as if she wanted to rip it but lacked the confidence to follow through.
My hands cupped her cheeks for a second before moving higher until they were buried beneath her locs. The tight coils were loose at the root, allowing my gloved fingers to massage freely.
When she flicked her tongue against mine, following the motion with a soft moan. I arched into her, getting as close as possible with the layers of clothing that separated us. Octavia moaned into me again, this time in agreement. All these clothes were acting as more of a nuisance now.
“If you let me just wear my top, this would have been easier,” I taunted as she still explored underneath my shirt.
She shook her head, unable to take her eyes off my mouth as she caught her breath. “You would have frozen to death.”
“You wouldn’t have let me.” I offered a chaste kiss. “You look out for me like I look out for you.”
Octavia nodded numbly, not even the slightest bit interested in talking anymore. I wholeheartedly agree. Because talking may lead to logic. And logic would lay out the facts of who we were and what we were doing.
Her thumb found my nipple. I bit her bottom lip in response to the shock of pleasure ripping through my veins. Octavia responded by pressing her body harder against mine with enough force to make me topple backward.
I slipped off the bench with a muffled squeal that sounded like a much younger version of myself.
Me, before responsibility and reality bogged me down.
No regrets about leaving the Guild. There was no fear of potentially ruining the careers of three brilliant people.
No turmoil about not knowing what the hell I was doing with my life.
Octavia had come down with me thanks to my thighs hooking her close. She laughed into my mouth, the exhales more refreshing than the crisp fall air.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured against my lips.
I shook my head, lying on the cold bottom of the canoe with dirt and grime on my back and the most beautiful woman straddling my front. “I’m not.”
The words released without thought, freeing us.
Octavia beamed at my obvious desire and leaned in to kiss me again. Her foot kicked up, trying to find a more comfortable position between our long, tangled limbs. And that wayward movement knocked a paddle overboard.
The splash made us freeze. Octavia’s eyes went wide as she pushed off me quickly.
“Careful, you don’t”—I popped up just in time to watch her frantic movement accidentally knock the other one off-board—“want to knock over the other one.”
Octavia clutched the side of the boat, peering down into the murky lake as if her panic would somehow will the paddles back. “I could reach it if you hold on to me.”
“Hold on,” I warned.
Both paddles were sinking slowly; the cheap alloy was too heavy to stay above the surface. Octavia looked at me, eyes large, and asking me, what next?
I wiped my hand down my face and tried to think of something comforting. Instead, I came up with, “It was a nice kiss. Worth freezing in the middle of a lake, in my opinion.”
Octavia raised a brow in disbelief and frustration. “Be serious.”
“I was.”
“Rae, how are we getting back to shore?”
I looked around at the quiet lake and Jacob’s house, about a half mile away from us now. “We could kiss some more to pass the time? Floating close enough to shore is going to take a bit. Unless…you’d like the swimming lesson a little sooner than later?”