Chapter 287 Progress

Clara stood perfectly still, her blinking quickened and the smile on her face seemed stalled.

“What?” she asked nervously after a silent moment had passed between them. “Did you just… did you say I can… kiss… you?”

Nessa suddenly felt very embarrassed. But she nodded.

Clara swallowed and licked her lips, balling her hands as she tried to calm her excited heart.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I don’t want you to feel pressured or like you have to do this just because I said I want to… I am perfectly fine waiting. I promise.”

Nessa took a deep breath and looked at Clara.

Clara tried her best to give a reassuring smile while keeping her own anticipation under control.

“I… want to….” Nessa whispered.

“Really?” Clara asked a little too quickly.

Nessa unconsciously took a step back from her.

Clara noticed and also took a step back, feeling a slight sense of defeat.

“Let’s not rush anything,” Clara sighed with a soft smile. “Maybe, I can just hold your hand for a little bit?”

She extended her fingers toward Nessa..

Nessa looked at Clara’s expression. There was a genuine smile. She had a loving and open soul that poured into Nessa from Clara’s big, honest eyes.

She saw the brief disappointment and the immediate adjustment. Clara worked so hard to meet all of Nessa’s needs without complaint.

Nessa knew that Clara meant every word, she was disappointed, but she didn’t blame Nessa or hold it against her. This was the core of Clara’s being, this selflessness and honesty. It was the qualities about her that Nessa found most attractive.

Nessa reached out, and their fingertips touched, soft and warm. They gently entwined their fingers. Clara smiled and looked down at their connection.

Nessa watched her thoughtfully.

Clara thought of the connection that flowed between them through this soft and fleeting touch. She knew it would only be a moment. Soon Nessa would pull away.

So, this moment was one that Clara wanted to memorize. To know the warmth of Nessa’s skin, the softness of her fingertips. The tingling pulse would spread from the tips of her fingers down to her palm and into the rest of her body.

Nessa saw the look of joy, the pleasure, the warmth of Clara’s smile.

Her memories stirred of the heated moments they had shared before she had taken the suppressant.

The sweet taste on Clara’s lips, like she had always just finished eating a bowl of blackberries.

Nessa chewed her bottom lip as she remembered how she had felt when holding Clara close. The pleasure, the confidence, the connection.

She missed it.

But, as lovely as it had felt, once on the suppressant, the conflict in her mind had begun. The sweet memory now left an almost paralyzing anxiety about repeating the event.

Even now, touching only their fingertips together, she felt her heart rate picking up and a pressure in her chest.

But there was something else almost as intense.

Blackberries.

Nessa’s eyes kept moving up to stare at the smile on Clara’s lips, the sweet, genuine smile. She licked her lips, thinking of the taste of blackberries.

She wondered if that was something she had imagined or if Clara’s lip would still taste like blackberries.

There was a tiny moment like finding a vulnerability in a firewall and exploiting it to break into the system.

Nessa’s fingers tightened on Clara’s hand and pulled her close.

Clara gasped and looked up at Nessa just in time to feel the soft, warm pressure of their mouths closing in on each other.

She kissed her back without thought, her body reacting naturally to their connection.

It was short and sweet, their lips touching, gentle pressure, and the light flick of Nessa’s tongue tasting Clara’s lips before she pulled away.

Clara stared at Nessa in stunned silence.

“You taste like blackberries,” Nessa said softly, taking a step back from Clara and turning away.

Clara licked her lips and brought her fingers up to touch them as though she wasn’t sure if she had imagined the whole exchange.

Nessa looked away and then sat back down at the computer.

“I…Uhm… I’m going to get a drink….” Clara stuttered out. “Do you… do you want something?”

Nessa shook her head; Clara could see the blush in her cheeks. She smiled and turned towards the door. Hurrying out.

Once the door closed, Clara looked around, checking that no one was nearby. Then, she jumped up and down excitedly, giggling like a child with a secret.

She touched her lips gently and closed her eyes, imagining the soft kiss again. Her face was warm with a blush, and she let out a satisfied sigh.

“Progress…” she whispered as she happily ran off to find a cold drink.

After the door had closed, Nessa’s fingers stopped typing, and her eyes turned toward the door.

Once she was sure that Clara was not coming back inside, she took several deep breaths, bringing her hand to her chest to help her calm down.

Her heart was racing, and she had broken into a cold sweat. There was a tightness in her chest and throat.

“I can’t believe I just did that…” she whispered to herself in shock.

Once her breathing was controlled, she touched her fingertips to her lips, thinking of the kiss. She saw Clara’s shy smile as she left the room, remembering the warmth and the taste of Clara’s lips.

Nessa smiled to herself.

“Progress…” she whispered.

***

Clara took a long walk to calm her excitement before returning to the lab. But even then, as she approached the door, she couldn’t help but feel the fluttering in her belly as she thought of Nessa waiting inside.

“Clara!”

She turned to see Ashleigh approaching.

“My Luna,” Clara greeted with a wide grin as she bowed with her fist held to her heart.

Ashleigh laughed.

“Come on now,” she said. “You don’t need to do that.”

Clara laughed and stood up straight.

“So, what brings you here?”

“I was coming to check on Nessa’s progress in finding whatever nasty surprises Alice left behind,” Ashleigh replied.

Clara glanced at the door and thought of how irritated Nessa had been at Ashleigh’s insistence that there had to be something she was missing.

“I thought she had already sent in her report?” Clara said, still smiling.

“She did,” Ashleigh said, “but I think a few more tests would probably be best.”

Clara bit her bottom lip and sighed.

“Ash, I understand that you have concerns about using the system restore sent by Alice, but–”

“You too?” Ashleigh interrupted, crossing her arms.

“What?” Clara asked.

“Caleb and Galen keep telling me that I am being too cautious, that I need to trust Nessa and the others to handle this.”

“Well… it is their job,” Clara said.

“I understand that, but all they are looking at is the technical side of it. Alice is a spy who broke into these systems easily, twice. So there must be a reason that she gave us a fix-all,” Ashleigh huffed.

“There is.”

Clara and Ashleigh both turned to see Nessa standing at the entrance to the lab, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared back at both of them.