Winds Of Fortune Part 15

Immediately, Nita's voice softened and she gently clasped Deo's forearm. "What happened?"

Deo shrugged, wanting to change the subject, but the sympathy in Nita's eyes and the tenderness of her touch seduced her into revealing more than she usually would with anyone, even a woman whose bed she shared-or hoped to. "My father beat me until I was half dead and then threw me out on the street."

"Why?"

"Because I killed his only son." Deo shoved the door open and strode out onto the deck. She was already halfway up the alley when Nita's voice reached her.

"Deo, please don't go. Deo?"

Enticed by the concern in Nita's tone, Deo slowed but didn't look back. The rain had let up until just a fi ne mist hung in the air. Moisture beaded on her cheeks like the memory of long-ago tears. "Look. I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't have to," Nita said from very close behind her.

Deo shivered at the light touch on her shoulder.

"We all have our secrets," Nita said quietly. "I'm sorry I forced you into revealing one of yours."

"Usually women want to hear your secrets," Deo said curiously, * 114 *

Winds of Fortune turning to face Nita in the semi darkness. "Isn't that what intimacy is supposed to be all about? Sharing secrets?"

"Quite possibly," Nita said steadily. "But I'm not interested in intimacy. I'm interested in looking at that laceration on your face."

Deo smiled crookedly. "I'm really the perfect person for you to sleep with."

Nita frowned. "I'm not even going to try to follow your logic.

Come back inside."

"I'm not interested in intimacy either, and I won't try to make you tell me your secrets," Deo said as she fell into step beside Nita.

"I don't have any secrets worth telling."

"Sure you do," Deo said softly. Nita might use her professional cloak and personal reserve to keep people at a distance, but Deo had caught glimpses of the tenderness and pa.s.sion she tried to hide. Nita would not be alone unless someone had taught her that love was dangerous. But she was not the person to change Nita's mind about that. They were alike that way, her and Nita-connection meant caring, and caring meant pain. "But like I said, I'm not pushing."

Nita decided that ignoring her, as impossible as that was most of the time, was the best approach. "Follow me down to the bathroom."

Nita directed Deo to sit on the closed commode while she retrieved antiseptic, steri-strips, and other supplies from a tall narrow cabinet next to the sink. Although well laid out with a s.p.a.cious shower and vanity, the room was still small, and there wasn't much s.p.a.ce for them to maneuver around each other. As Nita bent down, Deo's leg brushed her a.s.s, and that brief unintentional caress shot straight through her.

Pretending she hadn't gotten instantly wet, Nita stood and tilted Deo's head up with her fi ngers beneath her chin. Deo's skin was damp from the rain and the silky smoothness made her think of the way a woman's body misted just before she came. This close, she could see the small gold fl ecks in Deo's irises, and she imagined the way they would darken and swirl just before...

"Close your eyes," Nita said hoa.r.s.ely.

Once released from the hypnotic pull of Deo's gaze, Nita used a cotton swab to clean the laceration that paralleled Deo's hairline.

Concentrating on the familiar task helped her ignore the buzzing in the pit of her stomach. She brushed Deo's wet tangled hair away from the * 115 *

RADCLY fFE cut and resisted the urge to run her fi ngers through it. "The laceration is long, but not too deep."

"Told you that," Deo said, automatically spreading her legs so that Nita could get close enough to work. The solution Nita swabbed on the cut stung, but that sensation was quickly obliterated by her awareness of Nita's body almost resting against hers. The insides of her thighs rubbed against Nita's legs and a wave of heat shot through her. She couldn't tell if the torrent of warmth was coming from inside her body or from Nita, but she was aware that the fi ngers on her face had stopped moving.

Deo opened her eyes and found Nita staring at her, and there wasn't a doubt in her mind as to what she saw in Nita's eyes. Slowly, carefully, she slipped her hands around Nita's body and cupped her hips. When Nita didn't draw way, she gently pulled her closer until Nita's crotch nestled against her belly. She was suddenly so hot and so hard she thought she would explode, but she held absolutely still. Some sixth sense warned her that Nita must make the fi rst move.

"Let go," Nita whispered as the heat from Deo's body fl ooded hers. She couldn't step away, not with Deo's hands on her.

"You don't want me to do that," Deo murmured.

"I do," Nita insisted, knowing it was herself she was trying to convince. Deo's b.r.e.a.s.t.s rose and fell quickly and her nipples had tightened beneath the still damp T-shirt. Entirely against her own volition, Nita's fi ngers crept around the back of Deo's neck and spread through her hair. With a soft groan, Deo pressed her face against Nita's stomach. The top of her head glanced over Nita's nipples, and Nita trembled with another wave of arousal. She had very little time. Deo's breath against the thin fabric of her blouse seared her skin and she wanted Deo's mouth roaming over her body. She would burn for her, she knew, igniting beneath Deo's hands until all that remained was ashes. She would never survive the inferno again.

Eyes closed, lips parted, Deo moaned against Nita's stomach.

"Nita, please. I need to touch you."

Trembling, Nita gathered all her strength and pushed away. "You have to go."

Deo dropped her hands onto her thighs, palms up, her fi ngers curved in supplication. Panting, she nodded wordlessly.

* 116 *

Winds of Fortune Surprised but grateful, Nita took another step back. Amazingly, her voice sounded almost normal. "Keep that cut covered while you're working. It should be fi ne."

"Right," Deo said, rising unsteadily to her feet. "Thank you."

Unable to look away from Deo's fl ushed face, Nita reached behind her for the bathroom door and pulled it open. Then she pressed against it so Deo could pa.s.s. She was careful that their bodies did not touch.

Like an automaton, she followed Deo to the kitchen and watched her wrench open the gla.s.s doors. A breeze smelling of sea and summer rain wafted through the kitchen. A fl eeting image of the two of them naked, lying before an open window making love until dawn while the fresh clear air washed the past away, skittered through her mind.

"I'm sorry," Nita said softly.

"For what?" Deo's breathing was ragged.

"I shouldn't have touched you."

"Does it make any difference that I wanted you to?"

Nita shook her head. "None at all."

"I'm leaving because you want me to," Deo said, "not because I want to."

"I'm grateful."

"Don't thank me," Deo said harshly. "Next time I won't be as accommodating."

"Please go. This won't happen again."

"That's where you're wrong." Deo stepped outside, closed the door, and disappeared.

Wrapping her arms around her middle, Nita leaned against the counter and wondered how things had gotten so out of control so quickly. Then she tried to tell herself it could have been worse. Deo might have awakened her libido, but thankfully she still had control of her common sense. She hadn't been with anyone since Sylvia. In the months since, she had so ruthlessly crushed her desire, so completely disavowed her own need, that she was rarely aware of s.e.xual desire.

She hadn't even m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed since she had fi nally purged her system of wanting Sylvia every moment of the day and night. Now a pulse beat heavily, insistently, between her thighs, and she knew she would come with the lightest touch.

The pressure was nearly unbearable, but she wouldn't satisfy * 117 *

RADCLY fFE herself, not when she wasn't sure whose face she would see as she o.r.g.a.s.med. Sylvia or Deo? Was either any safer than the other?

y Too agitated to go home to silence, Deo walked. Driven by the churning in her stomach and the hot thrum of need coursing through her blood, she didn't notice pa.s.sing faces or register the occasional b.u.mp on her shoulder as she threaded her way through slow moving clumps of casual strollers. Over the years, she'd learned to recognize l.u.s.t in all its various guises-mindless, playful, urgent, detached. She'd made love to women who were so insatiable she'd nearly dropped from exhaustion before they'd had enough. Strangers had f.u.c.ked her in the dark until she couldn't remember her own name. Never once had she seen a look of such undisguised hunger and desperate vulnerability as she'd seen on Nita's face tonight. It was plain to see that Nita wanted her and feared her in equal measure, and knowing that twisted her up like a giant claw ripping at her insides.

Rebelling at the idea that Nita expected her to hurt her, Deo strode faster. Her body was in rebellion too, adrenaline pumping, her loins pounding with l.u.s.t and need. She wanted to pour her longing and loneliness into a woman's body. Even more than she wanted to come herself, she wanted a woman coming beneath her, crying out in ecstasy.

The blaring sound of a car horn brought her up short, and she jumped out of the way of the car she'd walked in front of. Shaking her head, she focused on her surroundings for the fi rst time and saw that she was in front of the Vixen, one of the hot spots for lesbians on the prowl. It wouldn't take long to fi nd a woman in there to empty herself into, or she could call Allie. Allie gladly took what she had to give, and because of that, she could relax enough to let Allie pleasure her. If she didn't fi nd release, she would never be able to sleep. Her head and her groin were in a race to see which would detonate fi rst.

Stranger or friend. Which should she choose, which should she use?

With a sigh, she crossed diagonally to the Squealing Pig and pushed through the door.

* 118 *

Winds of Fortune "Beer," she said tersely to the bartender. With any luck, she could drink the edge off and forget who she really wanted to f.u.c.k.

y "Let's go to bed," Tory said, sliding her arms around Reese's waist from behind as Reese gently lay Reggie into her crib and tucked the covers around her.

Straightening, Reese turned and kissed Tory's forehead. "Good idea."

Tory took Reese's hand and led her across the hall and closed the bedroom door behind them. Once inside there was only moonlight to guide them, but after the rain had stopped, the wind had blown the clouds away and the night was bright enough to see by. She unclipped Reese's tie and laid it on the dresser just inside the door. Then she began unb.u.t.toning her shirt.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love to undress you?" Tory murmured.

"Once or twice." Reese said thickly, reaching down to gently tug Tory's blouse from her jeans.

"It's the fi rst time all week we'll actually be going to bed together."

Tory pushed Reese's shirt off and let it fall, then pulled up her T-shirt.

Reese obliged by raising her arms and Tory stripped her. Her silhouette in the moonlight was a breathtaking combination of hard planes and subtle curves, her body almost too sharply honed. Tory brushed her hands over Reese's chest, lingering on the subtle swell of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"G.o.d, you're beautiful."

Reese trembled, her breath coming faster. "It's late and you'll need to leave early to get back to the hospital in the morning."

"I know what time it is." Tory trailed her fi ngers slowly down Reese's stomach to her fl y and opened her pants. Hooking both thumbs around the waistband and catching Reese's briefs in the same grip, she pushed them down. "Kick off your shoes."

"Tory," Reese whispered, an edge of uncertainty in her voice.

Kneeling, Tory worked Reese's clothing off one leg and then the other until she was nude. Then she leaned forward and pressed her face against Reese's abdomen, encircling her hips with both arms. She * 119 *

RADCLY fFE kissed the base of her stomach and ran her hands lightly over Reese's a.s.s. "You can't know how much I missed you. Even with you home again, it catches me in the middle of the day. This ache I have for you."

She tilted her chin up but she couldn't see Reese's expression, only the distant shadow of her face. "I need you inside me tonight."

Reese groaned quietly and cupped Tory's face with both hands.

"Baby, I'm not sure..."

Tory rubbed her cheek over the soft delta between Reese's legs and pressed a kiss to her center. Then she rose and wrapped her arms around Reese's neck. "Don't be afraid."

"When...when I touch you I feel like I'm running, running for my life and you're all that can save me."

"You're not lost, darling." Tory guided Reese's hand to her breast.

"And I'm right here."

Shaking, Reese kissed her tenderly, with infi nite care, and slowly unb.u.t.toned her blouse. She reached one hand behind and released Tory's bra as Tory skimmed off her jeans and panties. With her mouth against Tory's neck, Reese circled her waist and pushed her toward the bed. Tory went down on her back and Reese followed, her thigh between Tory's legs. Her voice was hoa.r.s.e and tight. "Here with you like this, I know who I am."

"Then be with me. You can't hurt me." Tory shifted until Reese was between her legs and then hooked her calves over Reese's thighs.

She kissed her, drawing Reese's tongue into her mouth, and rocked her hips in invitation.

Reese gave herself to the heat of Tory's mouth and the call of her body. When she felt her control slip and the choking need that verged on desperation surging through her, she tried to pull away, but Tory only held her more fi ercely.

"Don't go," Tory whispered, cradling the back of Reese's head in one hand and grasping Reese's wrist with the other. She pushed Reese's hand between them, down over her belly. "Be with me. Be in me. I need you."

"I love you," Reese gasped, sliding into her, submerging herself in the solace only Tory could provide. "Tory. Tory."

"Always..." Tory arched to take her deeper. "Always right here."

Reese pushed Tory to the edge, thrust after thrust, until she was about to crest, and then grew still inside her. When Tory cried out, * 120 *

Winds of Fortune imploring her not to stop, Reese whispered, "I will never leave you."

While Tory trembled on the brink, Reese slid down the bed and took her into her mouth. As Tory came, she grasped Reese's free hand and their fi ngers entwined.

Tory held her inside as long as she could, and continued to hold her hand after Reese slipped from her and lay panting with her cheek pillowed against Tory's stomach. Tory traced the wedding band on Reese's fi nger while she stroked Reese's face, thinking about her promise to love and cherish.

"I wish I could give you everything you need," Tory whispered.

"You give me more." Reese moved up the bed to take Tory into her arms. She cradled Tory's head against her shoulder and kissed her.

"You give me things I never knew I needed. More than I ever dreamed of having."

"Sometimes I feel selfi sh."

"No." Reese sighed. "You aren't. You never have been. It's me."

Tory raised her head. "You know what? Our life has been upside down since April, and this week has been really hard." She kissed Reese fi rmly. "I'll give myself a break if you'll do the same."

Reese laughed. "Is this like a timeout for grown-ups?"

"Something like that." Tory ran her fi ngers through Reese's hair, then curled up against her again. "We're together, and we always will be, no matter where either of us may be. For now, that's all that matters."