The Secrets Her Heart Keeps

Chapter Thirty-Six

"Merry Christmas, my beautiful baby girl," Regina whispers as she sneaks into Hope's room.

And of course, her daughter is already up, bouncing away in her crib as she hangs onto the side. Those big brown eyes are dancing with excitement as she smiles wildly behind her pacifier. Her dark locks are a mess, little curls flipping out near her temple and bouncing with each jump she achieves as Regina draws nearer.

"Ma. Ma." Hope babbles happily, melting her mother's heart from the warmth of love swooping through her veins.

She gently scoops her baby up and over the crib before pressing a sweet kiss to her cheek and settling her against her own hip. She slowly pries the pacifier away from her mouth and places it in her crib before they stroll through the hallway and back into her bedroom. She creeps inside, tiptoeing through the dark room, shielded by the drapes and keeping the sunlight hidden from her girlfriend's sleepy eyes.

"Get mommy," she whispers into her daughter's ear as she carefully places her on top of Emma's curled up body.

"Ma. Ma." Hope happily cheers, crawling right up the frame cocooned beneath the mess of sheets and comforter.

A deep grumble stirs through the room, but there's a lazy smile ghosting over those pretty pink lips. Emma stretches very carefully, conscious of their baby on top of her body and wraps Hope into her loving arms.

"Good morning, baby," she groggily says, stretching her lips to meet the tip of Hope's button nose. Emma peeks around her daughter's shoulder and stretches her lips even further for Regina's, convincing the brunette to capture those lips that worshiped every inch of her body through the night. "Merry Christmas," she whispers into the intimate space between them before Regina reluctantly pulls away.

Regina had this woman all night long, writhing and filling the air with the most provocative sounds that she declared to be her new favorite song. Emma spent just as much time guiding Regina's body to climb the highest of heights and yet, she is still craving her girlfriend like the clean air she needs to fill her lungs.

How is she this addicted to Emma already?

"Merry Christmas, Emma."

Emma smirks and lifts the edge of the comforter, silently requesting her presence to slip inside. So, Regina smiles back and there's just something about that endearing Emma smile that seems to cloud her mind and force her to oblige to the woman's every command. She slides right into the space radiating her morning heat and cuddles right into her girlfriend's side. Hope smiles down upon her mothers, showing off that tiny tooth behind her bottom lip, which instantly produces a chuckle from both mothers.

"Look at that adorable tooth," Emma gushes as Regina rests her head upon her shoulder and her girlfriend sneaks her arm behind her back so those fingertips can wander to their own accord.

"She's getting so big," Regina sighs, running her fingers through her daughter's messy hair.

"It's going by too fast, I swear I just had her," Emma pouts, inspiring Regina to tilt back and kiss that frown away.

Hope scoots a little closer, nudging their faces with her forehead, reminding her mothers that she is still there. And they both laugh, their lips breaking apart as they eye their daughter with ever-growing smiles. Hope grins right back, fully proud of herself and Regina is reminded how much her daughter resembles her blonde mother.

Emma runs her fingers through Hope's curls, really assessing their daughter's delicate features. "You know, growing up I never really had Christmases to look forward to. Sometimes, the foster parents would take us to some shelter where we could pick one gift from a huge pile, half the time they were gloves or hats for the winter."