“Am I?” Jem bit her lip as Rosie sucked her index finger right down to the knuckle. She wriggled, shameless and desperate to be touched. “Please, Rosie. Please,” she whispered.

Rosie didn’t muck about. She had Jem naked within seconds, kissing her fiercely and then spreading her legs and settling between them. “Remember to breathe,” she said an instant before she ran her tongue across Jem’s clit.

“Shit, aw shit.” Jem closed her eyes, her head falling back as Rosie’s mouth covered her. Rosie kept the touch feather-light at first, sending Jem into a frenzy of pleading and writhing, before gradually increasing the pressure. Jem panted, twisting the blankets into knots, and then cried out when Rosie’s fingers thrust into her.

“Don’t stop,” she begged, wondering vaguely if this would be her new favourite phrase. “Please don’t stop.”

Rosie obliged with enthusiasm, her fingers working Jem as her tongue continued to glide over Jem’s clit. Jem opened her eyes, saw Rosie half naked and beautiful, framed by the firelight, and came so hard that Rosie eventually stopped everything she was doing and simply leaned back to watch her.

“Bloody hell.” Jem’s hand flew out, clutching the top of the coffee table. She felt as if she was falling, though she had nowhere to go. “Rosie?”

Rosie kissed her clit, sending more sparks dancing across her vision, and then curled up beside her. Jem stayed still for a long moment, her chest heaving and her legs quaking. Rosie was murmuring something to her, but she couldn’t distinguish actual words. She felt a tap on her hand and looked down to see Rosie proffering her inhaler.

“I don’t need it,” she said.

“No?”

“No.” She kissed Rosie’s sticky lips. “This is the good sort of breathless.”

“Excellent.” Rosie launched the inhaler over her shoulder and then winced as it clattered off something. “I’ll find it later, I promise.”

“I’m sure it’s not gone far,” Jem said, yawning. Really good sex always made her sleepy, not to mention thirsty. She took Rosie’s hand, turned her wrist, and kissed the bee inked onto her skin. “Think those brews are still warm?”

“Probably not.” Rosie said. “And mine was a write-off anyway. I dropped my bloody Twix into it. Do you want me to make you a fresh one?”

Jem tightened her hold, keeping Rosie from moving while she tucked blankets over and around them. “No. I want you to stay right here with me.”

Rosie rested her palm on Jem’s cheek. “You are lovely,” she said, and the gentle fondness in her voice brought tears to Jem’s eyes. “Shh, now, Jemima Pardon. No crying.”

“I’m not crying, love,” Jem said, blinking the tears away. “I just never thought I’d find someone like you.”

Rosie’s chuckle vibrated beneath Jem’s ear. “Were you hoping you’d end up with someone sensible?”