“Oh, he does. He argues the hardest for which pair we should get.”

Carly’s hands traveled up from where they rested at Lauren’s waist to her rib cage and then lightly circled her breasts through her sweater. Lauren was forced to close her eyes in sweet surrender, loving being touched this way by Carly.

“Have I mentioned how much I love your breasts?” Carly asked, just before kissing the side of her neck.

Oh, man. “I think…yes.”

“Well, it’s so very true today. Let me tell you.”

Lauren opened her eyes and tried to pay attention to her very mundane chili task but was losing ground. All you have to do is stir, she told herself. Another open-mouthed kiss on her neck. Carly cupped her breasts more firmly, pressing them back against Lauren’s chest in a slow massage. Lauren was supposed to survive this, how? Why did her breasts have to be so sensitive? As if reading her thoughts, Carly abandoned that practice and dipped her hands up the hem of Lauren’s sweater, and then found her way into Lauren’s bra, circling her nipples with two fingers, then pinching lightly. It was as if someone had turned up the volume on her body, and it was all she could hear or concentrate on. She felt that familiar tugging between her legs, as everything woke the hell up for Carly the way it always did.

“Wanna take a break for just a minute or two?” Carly whispered in her ear. “We don’t even have to go very far.” To tip the scale even further, Carly ran her fingers along Lauren’s waistband, nearly causing her knees to buckle. “What do you say?”

Lauren nodded, because her voice felt far away in her haze of lust. She didn’t recognize her life lately, in the best way possible. It was barely dark on a Monday, and she was about to have an amazing dinner and some action with a woman she was growing to truly care about. Okay, she could admit that Carly was also ridiculously hot and fun and taking Lauren’s shirt off with skilled precision.

She allowed Carly to lead her a few feet away from the hot stove, her hands on the exposed skin at the small of Lauren’s back. Carly turned her around and kissed her, flooding Lauren’s senses. She tasted strawberry from Carly’s lip gloss. She felt the soft tickling of Carly’s hair on her own shoulders. She wanted Carly’s hands on her soon, all the while inhaling the scent of the most wonderful pot of chili she’d ever cooked.