Amelia’s breath hitched, a soft, shuddering sound that was lost against Alara’s sweat-damp skin. She didn’t pull away, didn’t break the profound, dizzying intimacy that had settled between them. Instead, she shifted just enough to lower her weight, her body molding perfectly against Alara’s, a familiar puzzle finding its match after too long apart. The feeling of her release, still deep inside the woman she had never truly stopped loving, was an anchor, tethering her to this moment, to this truth.
She buried her face in the crook of Alara’s neck, inhaling the scent of her. Her words echoed in the quiet room, a confession that stripped away all pretense, all the time and space that had separated them.
“I never found it either,” Amelia whispered, her voice husky and raw with emotion. “I looked. God, I tried to look. But it was just… empty. They weren’t you.” She pressed a soft, open-mouthed kiss to Alara’s shoulder, a silent apology for all the lonely nights. “No one has ever felt like you.”
Reaching out, Amelia gently brushed a stray strand of hair from Alara’s forehead, her touch reverent. “One night could never be enough,” she murmured, her thumb stroking Alara’s cheek. “Not after this. Not after knowing what it’s like to lose you.”
The chemistry between them was a living entity, crackling even now in the peaceful aftermath, a promise of more rounds to come, more whispered secrets in the dark.
“It’s still you for me, too, Lara,” Amelia said, the old nickname slipping out with an ease that spoke of deep-rooted habit and love. “It always was.” Leaning in, she captured Alara’s lips in a slow, deep kiss that was less about hunger and more about a promise a seal on a new beginning. It was a kiss that tasted of forgiveness and a future, a silent vow that this time, she wouldn’t let go.
