24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

P ixie awoke, blinking against the sun streaming through her windows. Her brain was fuzzy.

For a moment, all she remembered was being back at her studio, but her comforter was over her, and she was plastered against a warm body. Eva lay next to her in bed, her auburn hair splayed out on the pillow, a mess for once. Seeing this woman undone sent an illicit thrill through her with how buttoned up she was during her everyday life.

Having her in her bed was an addiction she didn't want to deny herself any longer. After Eva had come through for her last night—the steady way she'd accompanied her to her mother's place, how she'd taken her apart piece by piece in the studio—those tendrils drawing them together secured into place.

And she'd also come to realize her mistake in keeping her friends out of her personal life.

Her therapist had said the same to her a thousand times, but Eva belonged to her in a way the others didn't. They all had their own priorities, the people who they went home to at the end of the day, and Pixie had never met anyone who'd made her feel the same.

Until Eva.

Experiencing the result though, having someone stand by her side when dealing with her mother had taken off the weight of a boulder she'd been carrying by her lonesome for so long. Pixie pushed up to a seated position and swept her fingers through Eva's glossy, reddish strands. The woman's lashes fluttered, and her eyes opened, dark and dreamy as she stirred.

"Ugh, why do I feel hungover?" Eva said, sliding her palm down her cheek.

Pixie snorted. "Probably because you didn't hydrate enough. We had an intense scene on both ends last night." The sheets curled around her lower half, but the air was a little cooler on her breasts, her nipples tightening at the memory of what they'd gotten up to at her studio.

Eva scrubbed at her face. "I sometimes forget you're far more experienced than I am in the scene." She hesitated, and Pixie waited, wanting to know what caused it. "Does it ever bother you that I'm newer?"

Pixie shook her head, tangling their fingers together. Why holding Eva's hand sometimes felt more intimate than kissing, she had no idea, but she couldn't get enough. "I've played with Doms who had twenty years in the scene and never experienced some of the highs I do with you. One of the things people don't discuss a lot is the chemistry involved in playing with a partner, the connection. I've had sexual and power dynamic connections with different dominants before, but I've never had feelings involved."

Those words landed stark in the air, and for a moment, she wanted to swallow them back. They were a little too precious, a little too naked out there.

But Eva squeezed her hand, her eyes softened, and the world tilted back on its proper axis again. Pixie could breathe.

"I feel the same way," Eva said, her tone firm. Pixie trembled.

This was uncharted territory, something she had no map or schematics for, but the sole focus on her, how Eva made her heart sing, gave her the courage to leap.

"What does that mean for us then?" she asked, her heart thumping out of control.

Eva pulled their interlinked hands up to her face and pressed her lips to the back of Pixie's hand. "Well, if I'm moving to the area and you're staying here…I wouldn't mind giving us a go. Seeing where all this could take us."

Pixie's chest flooded with warmth at those shaky steps forward. "I want that." A grin twitched at her mouth, even though she fought it, as if the tentative happiness might get tugged out from under her at any moment.

"What about the outside world, though? This could cause some complications."

Micah.

Pixie knew that was who Eva meant. The bubble of warmth burst, cold infiltrating through, and she sighed. Ever since he'd found out about her interview, their relationship had been strained, and she was terrified this would break those bonds between them. Micah was her longest connection, her oldest friend, and she should've shared more with him. Should've told him what was going on in her world long before this.

"I can't lose him." Eva chewed on her lower lip. "I already let him down when we were kids. He had to shoulder the burden of being queer all by himself when I should've been there helping him."

"You were a kid," Pixie reminded her gently, even though the distress in Eva's gaze made her heart hurt.

"So was he." Eva untangled their hands and pushed to a seated position, the seriousness in her eyes striking Pixie silent. She'd clutched this precious gift in her hands, and already, she could see it getting snatched away from her.

"What if it doesn't cause complications?" Pixie asked, needing to throw it out in the universe. The cynical side of her guaranteed there would be trouble, but this was Micah. Even though she hadn't opened up as much as she should have, he'd been there for her a lot over the years. During college, he'd been the one to bring croissants and coffee so they could just sit there and munch when she was in a funk. He'd proved his loyalty to her time and time again, and to be honest, going behind his back with this had formed a layer of guilt that clung to her.

"How could it not?" Eva said.

"Yet he found his happiness." Pixie's heart thumped hard. This relationship with Eva was close enough to grasp, but it all could crumble. "You're allowed to find yours too." She sucked a deep breath in. "Even if it's not with me."

Eva shook her head and reached between them to cup her hand on the side of Pixie's face. "I got dumped by my boyfriend and girlfriend a little over a month ago, and I'm homeless, floating, and not even sure where to land. So you can imagine my surprise that this gorgeous, creative, awe-inspiring woman not only captured my attention but also completely ensnared my heart."

Pixie swallowed hard. Eva's words burrowed deep in a place she wanted to keep soft and secret.

"So if you're asking me where I'd find my happiness?" She brushed her thumb across Pixie's lower lip, the touch sending a shiver through her. "It's with you, dove."

Pixie couldn't help herself. She lunged forward, all but climbing onto Eva's lap as she kissed her.

As their lips touched, an incendiary spark flared through her entire body from the force of their connection. Eva's scent, all peaches and sin, surrounded her, soothing her worries and fears. She lost herself in the sweetness of their kiss. Such a simple act but with such a powerful, potent effect on her. Maybe because she'd never spent much time kissing—too romantic. She'd avoided entanglements, but with Eva, she wanted everything.

Eva threaded her fingers through her strands as she deepened the kiss, and Pixie melted into it. She loved the way Eva took command with her, how it came instinctively. Her lashes fluttered, and her tongue tangled with Eva's while pleasure slowly trickled through her. The surrender she experienced in this woman's arms, the safety, was brand new, but she didn't want to give it up.

After a lifetime of instability, she had finally found someone she wanted to risk her heart for. To claim.

"Pixie, have you seen my sister?" Micah called—far too close.

Before they could pull apart, the door to Pixie's room flew open.

Micah stood in the doorway.

And given Pixie was sitting on Eva's lap naked, wrapped up in the sheets with her, they couldn't pivot out of this.

"What the fuck is going on?"