Page 84 of Shift the Tide

“How dare you treat my noodles like that,” Kiera joked.

Izzy grinned, smirking. “How can I make it up to you?”

“I mean, I have a few ideas,” Kiera said, reaching for Izzy again. She leaned back against the kitchen counter, tugging Izzycloser as she dropped her voice. “Though all of them end with us in bed, if I’m being honest.”

“I’m a fan of honesty.” Izzy’s hand slid up, fingers threading through Kiera’s hair, voice husky in the quiet. “Are you sure?”

Kiera nodded, voice soft but certain. “Yeah. I’m sure. I’m ready.”

As if those words were all she needed, Izzy’s lips crashed against Kiera’s, unraveling anything left of the careful restraint they’d been holding onto all this time. Kiera barely had a moment to gasp before Izzy’s hands gripped her waist, strong and sure, lifting her effortlessly onto the kitchen counter. She clutched Izzy’s shoulders as a startled gasp slipped from her lips.

“Holy shit,” Kiera whispered in awe, staring down at Izzy.

Izzy stood between Kiera’s legs, hands sliding slowly up her thighs. “Surprised?” she murmured against her throat, voice teasing, but her eyes had gone dark, hooded with intent.

Kiera swallowed hard, heart hammering as she tilted her chin up, daring, wanting. “A little,” she admitted, breathless. “But I like it.”

Izzy’s hands drifted up her sides, slow and warm, fingertips skimming skin before finding the hem of Kiera’s sweatshirt. She paused, her gaze holding steady — one last check-in. Kiera gave a barely-there nod.

Izzy tugged the sweatshirt up and over Kiera’s head in one fluid motion, her glasses disappearing with it. Kiera shivered — not from the air, but from the look Izzy gave her. Like she was seeing all of her and didn’t want to look away.

Izzy’s palms traced her sides, thumbs brushing beneath her ribs, and Kiera’s pulse skipped. Her lips found Kiera’s collarbone, the edge of her plain, thin bra, trailing down with soft, careful grazes of teeth.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” Izzy murmured, voice rough at the edges.

The words punched right through her. When was the last time someone had looked at her like this — said it like they meant it? Izzy’s mouth was on her again, lips brushing down, tongue smoothing over each place her teeth had teased.

Kiera melted into it, her whole body alive to every movement, every breath. Her fingers slid into Izzy’s hair, holding on.

Izzy’s hands slipped lower, finding the button of Kiera’s shorts. She paused, her breath warm against Kiera’s stomach. “Still good?”

“Yes,” Kiera breathed, arching into her. “Yes.”

Izzy’s smirk was slow and knowing as she eased the shorts and underwear down, fingertips dragging softly along her thighs. She dropped a kiss to the inside of one knee, then another, higher, slower. Kiera trembled, her breath uneven, the electric energy in her body building.

“Izzy,” she exhaled, her voice rough. Her whole body drawn tight with anticipation, every nerve lit and reaching. She leaned back against the cabinet, head tipped, eyes half-lidded as Izzy kissed her way up. Hands firm at her thighs, parting her gently, reverently.

Izzy glanced up, eyes steady. “You’re going to be so fucking beautiful when you come for me,” she murmured. And before Kiera could answer, before she could even catch her breath, Izzy’s mouth was on her.

The moan that ripped from Kiera’s throat was almost embarrassingly loud, instinctive. Her back arched as sensation overtook her. Her hands reached blindly — Izzy’s shoulders, the counter edge, anything to hold on to. Izzy didn’t rush. She moved with slow, devastating control, taking her apart piece by piece. Every breath, every sound Kiera made, seemed to draw Izzy deeper.

Kiera had never been touched like this — not with such attention, such hunger. With Izzy’s mouth on her, shecame undone. Izzy’s hands mapped her skin, grounding her, worshiping her, making her feel like she was the only thing that mattered.

When Izzy pressed two fingers inside her, Kiera let go. She cried out, hips jerking, body trembling under the rising wave. The pleasure was sharp, full, dizzying. It swallowed her whole.

She came with Izzy’s name on her lips, her fingers tangled in blonde hair, pulling her close as the rhythm crested and broke. Izzy didn’t stop — just eased her through it, her mouth pressing gentle kisses along Kiera’s thighs as she shuddered and sagged against the cabinets.

Kiera’s breath came in shallow pulls, her chest rising and falling in sync with the thrum still moving through her limbs. When Izzy finally lifted her head, her lips were kiss-swollen, her expression soft and impossibly smug.

Kiera let out a breathless laugh, dazed and entirely undone. She reached down, threading her fingers through Izzy’s hair, pulling her up into a kiss that was slow and deep — full of an emotion Kiera didn’t want to name just yet. She could taste herself on Izzy’s mouth, something she realized she’d never done before. It was intoxicating — the way Izzy kissed, the way she moved, the way her hands skimmed along Kiera’s skin, warm and knowing. Every touch sent a jolt through her, a reminder that this was real, that this was happening.

“We should go upstairs,” Kiera murmured against Izzy’s lips, her voice shaky, her fingers gripping at Izzy’s hips like she needed to keep herself steady.

Izzy let out a breathy laugh, resting her forehead against Kiera’s for a beat. They didn’t move right away. The suggestion hung in the air, unhurried.

Eventually, they stumbled toward the stairs, hands exploring, mouths finding each other again and again in kisses that burned slow and hot. Kiera had never been kissed withthis kind of intensity — not just wanting but knowing. Her body pulsed with need, her skin flushed with it. She wasn’t shy about being naked against Izzy’s clothed body, a first for her.

They only made it a few steps before Izzy groaned against her mouth, pulling back just enough to say, “If we don’t stop kissing, we’re not making it to the bedroom.”

---