Page 43 of Shift the Tide

And just like that, the tension between them snapped into something sharp and undeniable, something sparking, electric and real.

The way Kiera whispered her name, Izzy wanted every second of it. “Close your eyes,” Izzy said, her voice low and sure.

The line was quiet for a heartbeat, and then Kiera’s voice came through, barely a whisper, but steady. “Okay.”

Izzy steadied her own breath as she settled deeper into the bed, letting the quiet stretch between them — not uncomfortable, but charged with something far more intimate. Every ounce of hesitation from earlier had slipped away, leaving behind a palpable connection.

“Tell me where your hand is,” Izzy murmured.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. She could hear the sound of Kiera’s breath, a soft rustle like she was shifting in bed.

“I’m sliding it under the band of my underwear,” Kiera whispered.

“Just let your hand drift down… feel how warm you are. Find that little spot that makes you gasp and touch it like you’d want me to. Slow. Gentle,” Izzy said softly, her voice warm and encouraging.

An unsteady breath from the other end of the line. Izzy could practically picture her: lying in bed, cheeks flushed, hands trembling slightly against her smooth, fair skin. Vulnerable. Trusting.

“Izzy,” Kiera whispered, but her tone had shifted into something more ragged.

Izzy’s breath caught, her own skin hot and electric.“Good,” Izzy murmured, letting her own hand trail lightly over her thigh, her body buzzing with anticipation. “What are you thinking about?”

The sharp inhale on the other end of the line was like a spark, like a fuse catching flame.

“I’m thinking about you,” Kiera whispered, her words spilling out like a confession. “About the way your hands felt on my breasts. And your mouth on my skin. The way you were so desperate for me in the kitchen at the beach house… in the elevator…”

Izzy squeezed her eyes shut, the memory hitting her like a wave — Kiera’s body pressed against hers, the heat of her breath, the softness of her mouth yielding beneath her own. She let out a low, quivering exhale.

“God, Kiera,” Izzy rasped. “You have no idea how badly I wanted to keep going. I wanted to feel every inch of you under me, hear you fall apart for me.”

Another breath from Kiera, wavering and uneven. “I wanted that too. I still want it.”

Izzy swallowed hard. “Tell me how it feels right now. I want to imagine you.”

Kiera didn’t answer right away, but then her voice came back, soft but certain. “Warm. I’m so wet. My heart is pounding. I keep thinking about the way you bite my lower lip when you kiss me, how solid you feel against me.”

“I wish I was there,” Izzy admitted, her fingers sliding through her own wetness, her forearm tensing as she began slow circles. “I’d show you just how much I want you. I want to take my time with you.”

Kiera made a soft, involuntary sound — somewhere between a gasp and a whimper — and Izzy’s stomach tightened in response.

“Izzy,” Kiera breathed, voice strained with need. “God, I wish you were here, too.”

“I am,” Izzy breathed. “And I want this to feel good foryou.However that looks. Just be in it.”

There was a long pause, just the sound of breathing — Kiera’s unsteady and quick, Izzy’s low and tight in her chest. The honesty of Kiera’s voice and the way she let herself ask for more hit Izzy harder than anything else could have. It was quiet, but it undid her completely.

“Kiera…” Izzy’s voice came out rougher than she meant it to. “You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to prove anything. Just let yourself feel good. That’s all I want.”

A soft sound followed, almost a whimper, and then Kiera said, barely audible, “Tell me what you’d be doing if you were here.”

Izzy exhaled slowly, her body already humming. She let the image fill her mind, let herselfwantwithout restraint, let herself imagine Kiera — flushed, open, and close enough to touch.

“I’d run my fingers along your thighs,” Izzy said, voice quiet and certain. “Not too fast. Just enough to tease, to let you know I’m not in any rush.”

She heard the way Kiera’s breath caught, a slight hitch that only made Izzy sink deeper into the feeling.

“I’d kiss your stomach,” she said, her tone thick with warmth, “soft and slow, until I felt you trembling. I’d glide my tongue along the inside of your thighs, feel you arch into me.”

Another pause, sharper this time — like Kiera was trying not to make a sound but couldn’t hold it back.

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