Chapter 3: the details
"Whisky or gin?"
Regina asked over her shoulder, giving her back to Emma as she prepared two tumblers. She couldn't see but she was sure Emma was scanning her house. When she brought people up to the attic, they usually had little time to take a look at the living room since they went right to the bed, stumbling to her bedroom through the house between kisses. Emma though, she could tell she was a curious spirit.
She wasn't wrong when she turned at the lack of answer from Emma and saw her scrutinizing the books on her shelf. She raised an eyebrow and was about to ask again when Emma turned to look at her, a smile dancing in her lips, again with a private memory.
"Got anything stronger? Apple cider perhaps?"
Regina stared at her and raised an eyebrow. Definitely an odd option; she usually saved the apple cider for herself and left the other drinks to her unusual guests. She nodded and turned, reaching for the cabinet where she kept the alcohol. Regina poured the drink in the two tumblers she had prepared while behind her Emma hummed.
"Interesting choice of books."
Regina waited until the drinks were ready to turn and walk over to Emma, handing her glass. "One can learn a lot from fairytales."
"So I've heard," Emma smiled confidentially, but Regina didn't return it, staring at her instead over her drink as she took a sip. She held her gaze for a while, standing in silence in a battle Regina didn't know what was it for.
"I must admit, Emma," she eventually said in a low whisper, like a confession, "you intrigue me."
"Is that good or bad?" Emma asked mirroring the same low tone. In the background they could hear the incessant sound of an ambulance crossing the street.
"Good." The word rolled in her tongue, like if there was something dirty about it, a hidden meaning. She reached again a golden lock but instead of tucking it behind her ear, she rolled it in her finger playfully. "Are you sure we haven't met before? You feel…familiar to me."
Emma smiled at the softness of Regina's voice. For what she had learned that night, Regina didn't have a relationship and she doubted she had had any serious relationship since she had left them. "You sound like you spend a lot of nights with different company every time."
Regina smiled, but there was a shadow of sadness in it. It only lasted a second though, before a smirk took over as she looked up to meet her eyes.
"Am I tonight's company?" Emma asked before licking her lips.
Regina's fingers left the curl and drew the line of her jaw, moving up until her thumb reached her lips. There were traces of what once upon a time had been gloss, Regina could feel it, and she smiled at it. She followed her own movements with her eyes and they landed on parted lips. She noticed Emma's breath was shallower and slightly trembling.
"Only if you want to."
She usually did what was common known as hooking up, but Regina had a rule and it was that the other person had to start it and convince her they wanted it and she had full consent. It was a long shot, since she and Emma had only shared a few sentences and very little information, but she had done it with less. So she waited for Emma to work out whatever she could see was going on her mind. It was like if there was something that was holding her back.
Her thumb was still on her lips and Regina moved her hand down to her neck, not in a pressuring way, but as a support. Emma closed her eyes in the caress and released a sigh. It seemed to be all she needed because when she opened her eyes, she didn't wait another second to finally move forward and press her lips to Regina.
The hand on Emma's neck travelled back to her scalp, her fingers curling into her blonde hair, while the other hand took its place on Emma's jaw, demanding to deepen the kiss. Regina felt strong arms wrapping around her body, holding her close, almost like if she was afraid if she let go it wouldn't be real.
She allowed the kiss to last longer than she was used to, but she couldn't complain. When she kissed her lovers were all about pure lust, not really meaning it, but this kiss felt like a connection, sharing more than she could grasp. When they ran out of air they had to forcefully separate, and for some reason Regina didn't want to look into Emma's eyes so to avoid the green orbs that were more than probably staring at her, she latched her lips to Emma's neck. Her hand slid into Emma's and gently pulled her to the bedroom, kissing her again both to avoid eye contact and because she had a new feeling of need for another kiss.
It was dark, as always, the room only graced by the dim light of the street, but for once Regina wished the lights were on. They fell on the mattress and soon both were out of their dresses. At some point Emma had taken the pin off her hair and Regina's dark locks fell dashingly forward, creating a curtain to hide their faces as she looked down at Emma. There was something dancing in green eyes, something that looked a lot like longing.
Pale hands roamed up and down her body, as if trying to cover as much of skins as they could, holding her close. The kisses were natural by now, their lips attracted to each other like a magnet, but each one of them sent a jolt of warmth inside Regina's body, going down right in between her legs.
She was shaking even before Emma touched her where she needed the most and started to rock her body to match the rhythm Emma had settled. Regina could no longer tell which moan belonged to whom, exchanging them between kisses and swallowing the other's groans of pleasure. When Regina started to feel the familiar tug deep inside her body, she moved her hips faster, burying her face in Emma's neck, nipping and lapping and sucking at the skin she found. Emma groaned at the same time Regina's throaty moan slipped from her lips.
It wasn't like anything she had felt before. She had had orgasms, but what she had just felt went beyond that. Her body trembled around Emma's fingers as they lazily helped her down the high and before she could fully recover her breath, she dipped her head to kiss Emma deeply. It was rushed, needy and breathless, but her tongue danced with Emma's as it tried to taste every bit of her mouth.
When her fingers found Emma's entrance, she let out a soft moan at the wetness she found and, although she had just had an incredible orgasm, she could already feel her body asking for more. She ignored that need and replaced with the need to make Emma enjoy the pleasure she was going to give her. She started to trace a path of kisses down her chest, but Emma grabbed a fistful of dark her and tugged upwards.
"Stay here," she murmured against Regina's lips.
Regina complied, but not without testing the waters. Her tongue dashed out to lick her nipple and Emma's back arched against the touch, silently asking for more. Regina's lips wrapped around it and sucked, lightly at first but the intensity grew as her fingers worked faster.
Pushing her body up, Regina's lips met Emma's again and swallowed the moan that dripped from bruised lips, smudged with Regina's red lipstick. She could feel Emma's wall tightening around her, so she followed the pace of the other woman's hips to make sure she got what she wanted. Emma's hand, still tangled in Regina's dark hair, tightened and tugged backwards, forcing their eyes to meet in an intense gaze.
The staring broke when Emma's eyes rolled to the back of her head before closing as her mouth opened to let out a long moan. Her hips kept riding her orgasm and Regina found she was entranced by the display of pleasure on Emma's features. Even when Emma stopped and Regina retracted her hand, she kept looking down at her, her own breathing shallow to match Emma's.
When it became too obvious, Regina finally moved to one side to lie on the bed, but before she could ask Emma to leave, her eyelids felt heavy and she closed her eyes, drifting to sleep.
"Take care of him like I would."
"I'll try."
Green eyes bore into dark coals and Regina wished it had been different for them. She wished they had had a chance.
Regina opened her eyes but before she could even look, she felt a body by her side. She took her time to turn her head and look at Emma, who was sleeping peacefully next to her. The light coming from the streets made some shadows on her face, making her look younger and darker than she looked like before.
It had just been a dream, but Regina stared at Emma, quietly expecting her to open her eyes. The green eyes she had dreamed of. It was just probably due to them being the last thing she saw before she fell asleep. Still, she felt that familiarity about them that she couldn't quite shake out of her head.
It wasn't the first time Regina woke up to find the previous night's lover, sometimes when she was tired it happened. However, when she woke up, usually in the middle of the night, she would kick them out with whatever excuse she could think of. This time though, she was frozen in bed, looking at Emma's soft features. A chopper flew nearby her large window and the light briefly shone on the other woman's face, helping Regina to get a better look at it. That face.
Unlike other times she had awaken at night with company, when she had felt alone although there was someone else in her bed, this time Emma gave her something she didn't know she needed. Proximity, trust, complicity. Support. Regina shook her head. She had met Emma a few hours ago. It was impossible.
The motion made Emma stir awake, opening her eyes a little to look at Regina through her eyelashes. "Regina?"
"It's not morning yet."
"Thank god, I wasn't ready to get up yet."
Regina smiled and suddenly it felt like ages when she had smiled like that, tenderly. She didn't know if Emma was awake or half sleeping, but the blonde raised her hand and it landed on Regina's stomach. She slid closer in the bed and Regina could only stare at the hand now resting on her body.
It felt strange. Familiar but not like she had done it before. It made her heart skip a beat. It felt…right. And that scared Regina.
