Winds Of Fortune Part 26

Reese closed her eyes and sighed as Tory drew her between her lips. Light as bright as rocket fl ares burst behind her eyelids as Tory tongued her, and the heat spreading through her belly and thighs was like the desert, scorching her. But this time she burned not with uncertainty and apprehension, but with the sure and certain knowledge of who she was and where she belonged.

Reese's cell phone rang, and Reese cursed. She was seconds from o.r.g.a.s.m. When she tried to twist and reach for it, Tory pressed a hand against her belly and held her down, relentlessly teasing her with her mouth and tongue.

"Baby," Reese moaned as the phone continued to ring and the pressure became so intense her stomach spasmed. She was so close and she needed the release so badly. The phone kept ringing. "Baby I should..." Tory pushed down on her stomach and entered her with her other hand and Reese went rigid. In the next breath, she came.

When Reese opened her eyes, her face was pillowed against Tory's b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She didn't remember Tory moving, didn't remember Tory pulling her into her arms. She didn't remember starting to cry.

"It's all right, darling," Tory soothed, stroking Reese's face. "I promise, everything is all right."

"I love you."

"Mmm, I know. That's my everything."

"The phone-I should check..."

* 187 *

RADCLY fFE "I know." Tory leaned across Reese for the phone. With one arm around Reese's shoulders, she handed it to her.

Still trembling from her o.r.g.a.s.m, Reese checked the last number.

"It's Bri."

"Delegate. I'm not done with you yet."

Grinning, Reese called back. "Conlon." Listening, she tensed and sat up. "I'll be right there."

"What is it?" Tory asked as Reese disconnected and stood up.

"Are you on call tonight?"

"No, Nita. Why?"

Reese grabbed her pants and pulled them on. "Because I might need someone to give an offi cial time of death. Bri's got medics working on someone right now."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Tory got out of bed and pulled on her robe.

"No. Go ahead and get the baby. It might take a while to sort this out. I'll call Nita if I need her."

Tory kissed Reese. "You okay?"

"A lot better than I was an hour ago." Reese kissed her again and hurried toward the hall. "You should go ahead and have dinner. I love you."

"Be careful." Tory sank down on the side of the bed, her body still craving Reese's touch. Despite missing her already, her heart felt lighter.

Reese had cried- something she almost never did. Tory couldn't help but feel that these tears were just what they both needed.

y "So?" Deo said. "What do you think?"

"I want to marry your aunt," Nita said, after savoring another bite of fra diavlo. "G.o.d, this is good."

Deo laughed. "Told you."

"I defi nitely made the right choice."

"You mean dinner over wild s.e.x with me?" Deo teased.

Nita pretended to look thoughtful. "Well, I don't suppose there are many women who could...cook like this."

"That's cruel." Deo reached across the table and took Nita's hand.

* 188 *

Winds of Fortune "Don't I get a reward for introducing you to this culinary delight?"

Nita regarded their joined fi ngers. Deo's were rough, marred here and there by small nicks and sc.r.a.pes, but her touch was amazingly gentle. Like the woman herself. She rubbed her thumb carefully over the scar on Deo's hand, then she looked up to fi nd Deo studying her intently. "What would you like as your reward?"

"To hold you," Deo said instantly. "To make love with you. No rush. Just us. As fast or slow or hard or soft as we wanted. Jesus, Nita, please, I..."

"Shh. I don't want you to beg."

"I don't mind," Deo said. "And I have no idea why I don't."

"I don't want that kind of power over you," Nita said fi rmly. "I've been there. It doesn't feel good."

"Why didn't you leave her?"

"Because she said she needed me," Nita said bitterly. "Me and only me. Because I'd never been enough for anyone before, and she made me believe I was the only one who could make her happy." She shook her head. "Pretty pathetic."

"Did she make you happy?"

"No," Nita said after a long moment. She took a breath, refusing to lie despite hating the truth. "But while she was inside me, owning me, telling me no one could ever take my place, I felt worthwhile."

"That's powerful," Deo murmured.

"Yes." Nita tried to pull her hand away, embarra.s.sed, but Deo wouldn't let her. "I was addicted to the way she made me feel. We'd been lovers on and off since I was twenty, but she could never admit to being a lesbian. I swore I'd stop when she got married, but she'd come to me, wild for me, and I couldn't say no."

"But you fi nally broke it off."

Nita laughed bitterly. "I didn't have much choice once everyone knew."

"And she never called?"

"Oh, she called. She called for months, begging me to meet her.

Just to talk. But I knew what would happen." Nita fi lled her wine gla.s.s and swallowed deeply. "That's a big reason why I took this job. A new place, far enough away so we wouldn't b.u.mp into each other. Too far for a rendezvous."

* 189 *

RADCLY fFE "Do you still want her?"

"No. No, I don't."

"Good."

Nita smiled ruefully. "That's it?"

Deo shrugged. "She had a hold on you. It happens. Sometimes I think it's not the hold that hurts, it's what people do with the power that it gives them. She wasn't worthy."

"You're a very interesting woman, Deo. Why don't you have a lover?"

"I..." Deo broke off, her face fl ushing as her cousin stopped at the table.

"Sorry," Lucia said brightly. "I didn't mean to interrupt. Can I take your plates and bring you some dessert or a little port?"

Deo looked at Nita.

"Dinner was wonderful," Nita said, her eyes on Deo. "But I think I'll pa.s.s on the port tonight."

Deo grinned. When her cousin had collected the dishes and moved away, she asked, "Does that mean we're not going to close this place?"

"Actually, I thought we might spend the rest of the..." Nita broke off as her cell phone rang. "Sorry. I'm on call. Just a second."

Nita found her phone in her purse. "h.e.l.lo? Yes. I'm sorry, where?

All right, yes. About ten minutes." She put the phone away. "I'm so sorry. I have to go."

"Where?"

"The sheriff needs me down at the Coast Guard station."

"I'll walk you down."

"No, I don't think you should. I'll be fi ne."

"Why not?"

"Really, Deo. That's not necessary." Nita could tell Deo was going to insist and lying to her was out of the question. "There's a body on the beach-probably a drowning. You don't need to see that."

Deo leaned across the table. "I don't need you to protect me from anything."

"Maybe not. But I want to."

"You're a very surprising woman yourself, Dr. Burgoyne," Deo murmured. "Will you call me later?"

* 190 *

Winds of Fortune "Are you going home? The night's still young," Nita said, trying to sound lighthearted. She loathed the thought of Deo ending the evening in bed with another woman.

"Believe me, no one else will do." Deo stood as Nita rose and kissed her. "And that's not a line, or a power trip. It's just the truth."

* 191 *

* 192 *

Winds of Fortune

CHAPTER TWENTY.

Reese angled the umbrella into the wind and tried to shield Nita as she knelt over the still form on the ground. The wind had picked up noticeably in the last few hours, and whitecaps roiled the normally sheltered water of the harbor. Headlights from several emergency vehicles, including her cruiser, crisscrossed over the small group huddled around the body. Beyond, the night was starless.

"Time of death 9:53 p.m.," Nita said without looking up. "I'm going to take blood right now for a tox screen. Can someone get me a syringe and some ice?"

"Coming up, Doc," one of the EMTs said. "We pulled some earlier when we started the IV."

"Good, I'll make a note for them to run both of them in Hyannis when they do the post. Some substances degenerate quickly with time."

Nita ignored the water dripping into her eyes and off her jaw onto the pale, still face below her. Someone's son, possibly someone's brother.

She thought of Deo as she accepted the syringe from the medic, palpated the thick sternocleidomastoid muscle in the neck, and slid the needle into the jugular vein. She tried not to imagine Deo looking down at her brother's lifeless face. "Any idea what happened?"

"Bri and Allie are still looking for witnesses," Reese said. "The fi rst anyone noticed him was when he washed ash.o.r.e. Think he could've come off a boat somewhere further out to sea?"

"I hate to speculate without doing a thorough exam," Nita said, straightening, "but from what I can see of his face and hands, he's not torn up at all. That suggests he hasn't been banging around in the water for very long."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too."

Nita dropped her gloves into a large red plastic biohazard bag and accepted the clipboard with the incident report from the EMT. After * 193 *

RADCLY fFE dashing off her fi ndings, she handed it back. "Do you need me for anything else here, Sheriff?"

"No. The rest of it will have to wait until they get him to Hyannis.

Thanks for coming out."

"No problem. I'm sorry it turned out the way it did."

"Me too." Reese guided Nita up the muddy slope with a hand on her elbow. "You need a ride home?"

"That would be great. Thanks." Nita sluiced water from her face with both hands. Her clothes were soaked, and her silk blouse clung to her in cold sheets.