Not to mention it was the best sex Sutton had had, and a part of her felt like she needed to get her fill, to sate herself, before it was over.
Sexmade sense.
The little, sweet human moments filtered in, but Sutton did her best to accept them for what they were.
Right here, right now, Sutton could admit that this intimacy felt different than it typically did. It felt, already, truly intimate.
Right now, right here, Sutton didn’t have a single defense to hold up against Charlotte, even if it was a bad idea to have sex when she felt so…much.
This entire night so far, it had been so, so dangerous for her to be around Charlotte.
But she couldn’t stop it. She…
Charlotte mirrored her nod, the smallest yet most meaningful of smiles teasing at her lips. It was as if her knowledge that Sutton knew her true intentions regarding being here mattered so very much. “Good,” she whispered.
Dangerous.
The word floated through Sutton’s mind, just as much of a whisper as Charlotte’s.
And while she knew it, she couldn’t listen to it. Not right now.
Maybe it was because of thismoment. Of the way they were wrapped together in the soft glow of the room, and it was Christmas Eve. Of how a part of Sutton always longed for home, for her family, tonight, and with Charlotte here with her, she… hadn’t.
Maybe it was because of exactly what Charlotte had just said. Charlotte had come to her tonight, seeking her out, unasked for and entirely unexpected, for the sole purpose of being there for Sutton on her first Christmas as a parent that she wouldn’t have Lucy. Charlotte had known how deeply Sutton would be feeling that loneliness, and Charlotte didn’twantSutton to feel that loneliness.
Maybe it was because of the way Charlotte had just shared such an honest look at her childhood. Because, as Charlotte explained what it was like during Christmas in her youth, Sutton hadachedfor the young girl Charlotte had once been, lonely and forgotten on the holidays. That ache had remained for the woman who’d had to harden herself against that feeling.
She was able to see with such a complete vision now—finally—why Charlotte was the person she’d become as an adult.
She’d always had a scope, back then and now, a view most people in the world would never have, into the psyche of Charlotte Thompson. She knew that; she’d always known that she knew Charlotte in ways Charlotte didn’t offer to many others. But tonight, she felt like she’d cracked open something so rare.
A true vulnerability. The truth of what had shaped Charlotte, even if Charlotte herself didn’t quite know it.
It was probably an insanely powerful combination of all of those things that made her lower the guard she vigilantly kept up with Charlotte. It was all of those things that made another bigger part of her mind hush that warning of danger.
Just this once. Just thisonce, let the softer side of her, the side of Sutton that hadn’t existed the same way in so long, take over. To let her feel.
She leaned up, angling her chin, wanting…
And Charlotte met her halfway, connecting their lips once again.
It was the combination of all of those things, she dimly thought, that fanned the flames inside her to burn even hotter tonight. That was what it was.
The flames that, for once, didn’t feel like they were burning Sutton from the inside out. Not in this moment, as Charlotte sighed against her, sliding her tongue along Sutton’s, lighting her up.
No, the flames didn’t burnas Charlotte carded her hands through Sutton’s hair, tugging gently, as she rocked her hips against Sutton once more.
They smoldered.
Her hands gentled, no less wanting, though they wanted to savor the touch and feel of Charlotte’s body.
She slid her hands down, gripping Charlotte’s waist, molding her hands to their curves as Charlotte’s hands cupped her jaw.
Charlotte’s kiss gentled with Sutton’s.
Beat for beat.
Sutton brought her hands up, sliding Charlotte’s—Sutton’s—shirt up as she went. She wanted to feel Charlotte’s body, her bare skin. It mattered to her, right now, and she wouldn’t—couldn’t—think too sharply about that in this moment.