Page 86 of Shift the Tide

The pressure built, slowly at first, then all at once — a rush beneath her skin, a demand she didn’t want to deny. “Come forme,” she whispered, voice rough as she kissed along the side of Kiera’s neck, teeth scraping gently before her lips soothed the sting. Their hands kept moving, synced without effort now, chasing release together.

Kiera’s thighs tightened around her, stomach pulled taut as her hips jerked once, twice — the kind of full-body tension Izzy had already learned to read. She leaned in and grazed her teeth along Kiera’s jaw, feeling the way Kiera’s breath hitched, how her fingers dug into Izzy’s back like she was trying to hold on through the rush of it. “Good girl,” she gasped. The next words came in stutters as she pitched closer toward the edge: “Let go. Just like that.”

A moan escaped Kiera’s lips as she trembled beneath Izzy’s touch. The sound, the feeling of Kiera falling apart in her arms, was enough to send Izzy over the edge right after, her own release crashing into her like a tidal wave. Everything else dropped away: just their ragged breathing, the grip of fingers against skin, and the wild, unsteady thud of their hearts.

Izzy lay still, her skin cooling, heart starting to slow as Kiera’s breath tickled the edge of her shoulder. Everything felt a little disoriented — her limbs heavy, her thoughts sluggish — but not in a bad way. More like she’d been poured out and hadn’t quite settled back into herself. Kiera’s lips brushed her shoulder again, and Izzy didn’t flinch or pull away. She just breathed.

Kiera’s fingers traced lazy shapes across her back, and Izzy focused on that — on the quiet, repetitive movement, the solid weight of her next to her. It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t overwhelming. It was calm. Steady. And maybe that’s what caught her off guard most — the steadiness. Not having to guess what came next, not having to armor up or keep her distance.

The room was quiet except for the sound of their breathing evening out. And somewhere underneath the leftover adrenaline and the rising awareness of how emotionally exposed she felt,Izzy could tell: she didn’t want to leave this. Whateverthiswas. It didn’t come with guarantees. But it made her want to stay long enough to see what might happen.

Morning light filteredthrough the gauzy curtains of Kiera’s bedroom, casting pale shadows across the sheets. Izzy lay on her side, Kiera’s body warm against her. It was comfortably quiet, and the silence felt like a bubble around them, fragile but full of something unspoken.

Izzy watched Kiera’s face, relaxed in sleep, her breath slow and steady. A soft pang of tenderness hit her square in the chest.

She didn’t know how to explain what had happened the night before — not out loud, not yet. But she felt it in the way they’d fit together without needing to talk it through, how hesitation had shifted into certainty. At first, their hands had been unsure, searching; but slowly, they’d started to figure each other out. The way Kiera gasped when Izzy curled her fingers just right. The way Izzy’s breath caught when Kiera mouthed along her collarbone. They adjusted. They learned. By the end, it felt less like guessing and more like remembering — as if their bodies already knew the language, even if their mouths hadn’t caught up yet.

Kiera stirred, eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks before her eyes opened, still hazy with sleep. She blinked at Izzy with a slow, sleepy smile. "Hey," Kiera murmured, her voice rough with sleep.

Izzy’s heart did an embarrassingly traitorous flip. "Hey."

For a moment, they just lay there, caught up in something that felt dangerously close tomore.

Then Kiera’s stomach growled loudly, breaking the spell.

Izzy couldn’t help the snort that escaped her. "Romantic.”

Kiera laughed, cheeks flushing a delicate pink. “I used up my romance quota last night.”

“Oh, was that romance? The part where you fucked me on the stairs?” Izzy teased.

Kiera’s eyes flashed and she leaned in to kiss to Izzy’s jaw. “I didn’t hear you complaining.”

“Oh, I wasn’t complaining at all,” Izzy clarified.

Kiera nuzzled into Izzy’s neck. “It’s funny. I’ve thought about this for so long, and now…”

Izzy sighed contentedly. “Did it live up to the hype?

“I think I’d put exceeds expectations on your review,” Kiera said, her face still nuzzled in Izzy’s neck.

Izzy blinked in surprise. “Really?” She pulled back to look down at Kiera, her thumb brushing along Kiera’s jawline. “Does that mean I get a raise?”

Kiera’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “Sorry, best I can offer is more sex.”

Izzy laughed. “All this time, I thought I was the only one. We could have been having kitchen counter sex fordecades.”

Kiera playfully nipped at Izzy’s collarbone, and then her thigh found its way between Izzy’s knees. “Literal decades.”

They eventually untangledthemselves from the sheets and padded to the kitchen. Kiera made coffee while Izzy sat on the counter, swinging her legs, trying not to think about how comfortable this all felt.

The mundane act of making breakfast felt intimate in a way that surprised Izzy. It wasn’t big gestures that undid her — it was the small moments of closeness that made her feel loved.

“I would just like to announce that I formally retract my cheese statement,” Kiera said, holding a spatula in her hand, her brunette waves adorably mussed, her glasses slipping down hernose. “I think I was mistaken. I wouldnotbe choosing cheese over any of what happened on this counter.” She pointed with her spatula.

Izzy laughed. “We aim to please.”

Kiera looked at her a little shyly, then bit her lip. “So, what happens now?”

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