Page 85 of Fool Me Twice

“Shut up,” Roma says, and she drapes her arms over Ez’s shoulders, leaning in to kiss her again. Her fingers fumble for the back of Ez’s shirt. “Can I?”

“You’re already taking too long,” Ez drawls, and Roma grins as she pulls it off. Immediately, she ducks her head to kiss her way down Ez’s neck, her fingers tangling in Ez’s hair. Ez lets her eyes slide shut as she revels in the sensations: the gentle tugging at her scalp, the heat of Roma’s mouth against her skin, the way Roma’s free hand is slowly but steadily creeping downward‍?—

Roma’s fingers hook into the waistband of Ez’s jeans. “I‍—I want these off.”

“About time you got there,” Ez says, and she flops onto her side to remove the offending article of clothing.

By the time she sits back up, it’s to see that Roma is taking the brief reprieve to catch her breath, and Ez takes that same brief reprieve to admire the sight of her. Ez’s calm, collected, controlled hunter is utterly disheveled now: eyes dark with desire, skin slick with sweat, muscles trembling with anticipation‍?—

Hair frizzing out of her ponytail. Carefully, Ez reaches for it. “Can I take this down?”

A faint tremor runs through Roma. “Sure,” she says, and she turns around to face the wall, tipping her head back towards Ez.

Delicately, Ez coaxes the band off of Roma’s ponytail and onto her own wrist, letting Roma’s hair cascade around her shoulders. For a few moments, Ez combs her fingers through the little knots, listening as Roma’s breathing evens out and her shoulders start to relax.

And then, because Ez isn’t about to waste another second, she slides forward, presses her chest against Roma’s back, and braces her legs on either side of Roma’s, letting her hands wander up and down Roma’s sides. “There. Much better.”

“The‍—‍” Roma’s voice catches on a moan as Ez starts massaging slow circles against her lower belly. “The hair or the position?”

“Well, your hair looks pretty either way,” Ez says diplomatically, kissing the hollow behind Roma’s ear. “And the other positions were good, too. But, personally, I’m beginning to think that every part of tonight is going to be better than the last.” Deliberately, she trails her fingers downward. “Say yes?”

“Please,” Roma whispers back, and she turns her head to kiss Ez again.

37

Well,” Ez says. “That was unexpected.”

Roma cracks open her eyes to squint at Ez. “You said that already. Do you seriously not have any other reactions?”

Ez tightens her arm around Roma’s shoulders, tugging her closer. Right now, Roma is curled up against Ez’s side with her head resting on Ez’s chest, and right now, Roma is determined to never admit how cozy she is. “My higher brain functions are still blessedly offline, so no, I don’t. And I’m honestly just… enjoying the moment.”

“Mm.” Slowly, Roma lets her eyes slide closed again, unabashedly snuggling into Ez’s side. “It’s a good moment.”

And it is. Roma is drowsy and loose-limbed and content in a way she’s never quite felt before, and Ez’s mattress is comfortable and her sheets are silky and her heartbeat is steady under Roma’s ear, and it’s just‍?—

It’s nice. It’s calm. It’speaceful.

Honestly, Roma could get used to this.

“So are we going to, you know,” Ez says. “Talk about it?”

“I thought we were enjoying the moment.”

“Yeah, well, I’d be able to enjoy the moment more if I didn’t think this was a one-time thing,” Ez says, an edge creeping into her voice.

Roma’s heart twists. Carefully, she pushes herself up on one elbow to look down at Ez. “You want this to happen again?”

Ez doesn’t drop Roma’s gaze. “Yes. And that’s a huge problem, because in less than twelve hours, I’m not going to be able to touch you again. And in less than twelve hours, we’ll hopefully have cast our counterspell and stabilized the Deep, and that means‍—that means we won’t even have an excuse to talk anymore. Not without invoking the Sanctum’s wrath, at least.”

Roma’s chest hurts. Days ago, weeks ago,monthsago, her life was so simple, so easy, sostraightforward‍?—

Hunters were good. Demons were bad. No shades of gray.

And then JJ defected, and Roma was assigned to trap him and Cass and Desi. She saw how content he was, howfulfilledhe was, and vehemently denied it, convincing herself that Cass had somehow brainwashed him into leaving them.

Not letting herself see that JJ was the happiest he’d ever been.

And then she was sent out to trap himagain,and she somehow stumbled into this entire mess with Ez. Ez, who’s always had Roma’s back with spellcasting; Ez, who goes to bat for Roma when it really counts‍?—

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