by Donna Raider
“Mom,” the boy almost jumped over the bench when Leah materialized beside him with her ice skates. “You scared me. I thought you weren’t feeling well.”
“I’m much better, dear,” she smiled a slight smile at her son as she scanned the ice for her wife and Amber. She sighted them on the far side of the rink. Mika was holding the beautiful blonde close against her as they picked up speed moving around the rink. She could see her hips moving as her body pushed against Amber. She knew how that grinding motion felt, and fury filled her at the thought of another woman feeling it. Mika smoothly swung Amber out in front of her. Amber twirled in the air, landed and caught Mika’s hand as she sped past her. Mika pulled Amber tightly against her as she took them into a graceful spin on the ice. As the music ended, their spin slowed to a stop, with them holding each other, looking into each other’s eyes.
“Wow,” Richie gasped as the song ended. “Just, Wow!”
“Wow, indeed,” Leah growled.
Mika saw the fury in Leah’s dark eyes as she and Amber skated toward them. Richie saw the look, too and knew the priest was innocently in trouble.
“Mika,” the boy quickly stepped between his mother and the priest, “that was awesome. I see what you mean about how we need to look into each other’s eyes as we skate. It’s very dramatic.” Richie caught Amber’s hand and moved her out of harm’s way just in case fireballs should appear.
“Honey, I am so glad you decided to join us,” Mika smiled. Her joy at the sight of Leah was obvious. She bent to kiss her but met the coldest lips imaginable. “Oh, no, please, baby, don’t,” she pleaded.
Mika noticed Leah’s skates. “Do you want to skate?”
“I do not,” she hissed.
“Watch Richie and Amber. He is truly good.” The priest tried to shift Leah’s attention away from herself. Cranky Leah truly was difficult, but, wow, she was hot.
##
Leah watched her son maneuver the blonde as skillfully as Mika had, she was pleased by the beauty of their skating. As the song ended, the pair stood gazing into each other’s eyes just as Mika and Amber had; only now, the gaze went on way too long.
“That is just the end of their routine,” Mika said softly, “Wait until you see the entire thing.” She sat down and removed her skates.
Leah looked at her, unable to pull her gaze away from Mika’s unfathomable blue eyes. She felt like a spoiled child that had just thrown a terrible temper tantrum. She watched her wife as she stood to take her skates.
“Let’s get some hot chocolate,” Mika leaned down for another kiss. This one was much warmer and kissed back. “That was so much better,” she grinned as she took Leah’s skates and turned her toward the diner.
Leah linked her fingers through Mika’s, feeling the warmth of her through their gloves. “I…I just love you so much,” she almost sobbed.
Mika was learning that Cranky Leah could also be Volatile Leah. Still incredibly desirable.
“Son, we’re going for hot chocolate,” Mika called to Richie. “You and Amber join us when you finish?”
They walked in silence to the diner. Just before going inside, Mika turned Leah to face her. “I love you,” she said with all the conviction born of centuries. She lowered her lips to Leah’s and was delighted when Leah tiptoed to meet her. Leah slid her arms around Mika’s waist as Mika hugged her tightly. Oh, so desirable, Mika thought.
“Seriously, Priest,” Richie blushed as he and Amber approached the kissing couple.
“You have no idea, son,” Mika shook her head as if even she couldn’t fathom her fascination for her wife.
Mika and Ritchie hung up coats and deposited skates before joining the women in their booth.
“Richie tells me the agent from New York is supposed to be here Monday,” Amber commented as Ruth placed a steaming cup of hot chocolate in front of each of them.
“Yes, they want to finalize plans for the concerts.” Leah frowned. “I’m glad you’re going to be there, Amber. I will feel a lot better about the boys’ safety with all of us there. I know Emily wants to be responsible for Richie’s security, but I will feel so much better if you can stay close to him.”
“Me, too,” Richie grinned as he sipped his chocolate.
The two women exchanged knowing glances and Amber winked at Leah. Once again, the mayor was ashamed of the tantrum she had directed at her wife earlier. She was glad her son had kept Amber from witnessing her childish behavior.
“Mom, may we have a movie night?” Richie asked. “Mika and I can make our famous pizza, and Amber can join us for dinner and a movie.”
“Of course, Amber is welcome, but I’m sure she has plans on a Saturday night,” Leah smiled.
“I don’t,” the green-eyed beauty said softly. “I would love to join you if it isn’t too much trouble.”
“Great,” Richie almost fisted the air then decided that might be too childish. “You will love our pizza. Mika has taught me a lot about cooking. She says every good husband should be a good cook.”
“I suppose when one is alone as long as Mika was, one does develop certain culinary skills for survival,” Amber smiled happily at the boy.
“Mom just got me the new Captain America video,” Richie told her excitedly. “Are you familiar with Captain America?
“I’ve heard of him,” Amber smiled, “but I have never seen one of the videos. I am looking forward to it.”
“Sounds like we are all in for a treat,” Mika grinned.
CHAPTER 24 - Contracts and Confessions
“I believe Mika and Ritchie outdid themselves tonight,” Leah smiled as she and Amber followed Richie into the family room. “That pizza and salad were the best yet.”
Mika settled on the sofa and pulled her wife into her side, draping her arm across Leah’s shoulders, so Leah was resting on her shoulder. It was their favorite way to watch TV.
After the movie was over, Mika excused herself. “I have to look over my sermon for tomorrow,” she explained to Amber. “Thank you for joining us tonight.”
“It was a wonderful evening,” Amber smiled. “You and Richie do make the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.”
Like the gentleman he was, Richie jumped to his feet and walked Amber to her car.
“Will you be long?” Leah asked.
“Thirty minutes, tops,” Mika walked her to the stairs. “I should be up by the time you get out of the shower.”
##
Later, when Mika slid into bed beside Leah, the brunette scooted against her and put her feet on Mika’s legs, warming them. “I’m sorry I was such a brat today.”
“It’s okay,” Mika kissed her softly, not wanting to start anything. “Strangely enough, Angry Leah turns me on.”
Leah raised up on her elbow and looked into Mika’s laughing blue eyes. “I believe any Leah turns you on,” she smiled seductively.
“I’m afraid you’re right, darling.” Mika kissed her one more time just for the pure joy of it. “I am whipped, aren’t I?”
“Umm, no comment” Leah snuggled closer into her wife.
##
Mika scanned her congregation and was surprised to see Marcus Devon in the audience. As soon as she gave the benediction, she moved to her wife and son, guiding them to the door more quickly than usual. As always, they greeted each person as they left the church. Everyone liked the way the priest and her family had something personal to say as they shook hands.
Some asked if the Cross family was having lunch at the diner. Richie’s friends wanted to know if they would be ice-skating later. The band members double-checked the time of practice tonight.
“Oh, Wow!” Richie exclaimed as Marcus steered a gorgeous young woman toward them. “She looks just like Mom,” he exhaled loudly, “only ten years younger.”
Leah raised an eyebrow at the pair, wondering what Marcus was up to now. Mika observed the dark-haired beauty with the man. She looked so much like her wife it was eerie. The woman lacked the grace and elegant confi
dence of Leah, but she was beautiful.
“That was a wonderful sermon,” the young woman caught Mika’s hand between hers and gazed into the priest’s eyes. “I enjoyed every moment of it.” Marcus was right, she thought. Priest Mika Cross is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Of course, her wife is just a lovely. That is almost like giving myself a compliment.
“Leah, Mika, I would like you to meet Dorie Cain, my assistant.” Marcus held out his hand to Leah, but Mika shook it.
“Dorie, how nice to meet you,” Leah smiled, “This is our son Richie. His band won the contest. I’m certain that is why you are here.”
Dorie shook Richie’s hand as if he were the most important person in the world. “We were just going to lunch,” the boy grinned, “please join us.”
“We would love to,” Marcus interrupted.
Leah winced. She wished she hadn’t taught her son such good manners.
Mika pulled her wife’s arm through hers as the group walked to the diner. Richie was talking a mile a minute to Dorie, who seemed genuinely interested in what he was saying. Marcus was silent.
Most of the congregation were already in the diner, and all the tables were full except the booth in the back corner. As Leah and Mika entered, a slight titter went through the crowd. The townspeople did love their priest and mayor.
When Dorie entered, a gasp went through the crowd. Richie proudly took her arm and guided her to the booth in the back. After the Cross party had been seated, the total silence erupted into a low roar as the diners began discussing how much the young woman looked like Leah, before she became the Wicked Queen.
The sheriff gaped at Dorie as she sashayed through the diner. So hot, she thought, just like Leah. “Ruth, get a load of that.”
“Yeah, I know,” Ruth nodded disgustedly, “You wouldn’t mind hitting that.”
Emily glared at Ruth then decided to introduce herself. As she approached the table, the glare from Leah said, “Come close enough and I will fry you.” The sheriff made a U-turn and returned to her seat at the counter.
“Lose your nerve, Sheriff?” Ruth teased.
“Man, Leah is pissed about something,” the sheriff growled. “I didn’t want to become ashes in the middle of your diner.”
##
“Dorie and I thought we would visit your town and mix a little fun with work,” Marcus said amicably.
“If you haven’t already,” Mika said, “you might want to get a room here. It’s the best bed and breakfast in town.”
“Yes,” Dorie added, “we were fortunate enough to get the last two rooms last night.” She wanted them to know that she wasn’t sleeping with Marcus.
As the pair perused their menus, Mika observed Marcus. The man looked like he had been to hell and back. He had lost about twenty-five pounds since they last saw him. His face was gaunt, and his eyes were recessed, with dark shadows beneath them. He had aged, and the light in his eyes was now a dull emptiness.
Yes, Mika thought, longing for Leah could do that to a man. She glanced sideways at her wife who had her hand on the inside of Mika’s thigh. She had to drag her mind away from how good it felt when Leah touched her. She smiled to herself and thought. Marcus couldn’t have picked a worse time to show up in their town. Cranky Leah, Volatile Leah and downright Furious Leah are just looking for something to send up in flames.
“I believe we have an appointment at ten in the morning,” the mayor said coldly. “Will you be there, too, Miss Cain?”
“Ah…yes,” Marcus stumbled, he wasn’t used to getting such a cold reception from others.
“If that is agreeable to you,” Madam Mayor.” Dorie was polite and smart enough to defer to Leah.
“That will be fine,” the mayor smiled, looking up when the diner door opened. “Amber,” please join us.”
“Amber and Richie entered the skating competition at the Fall Festival,” Mika tried to move the conversation to a safe topic.
“We’re all going ice skating after lunch,” Richie chimed in. “You should join us. Tell us what you think of the routine Amber and I are skating.”
“We would love to,” Dorie smiled a beautiful Leah-like smile. “Do you skate Marcus?”
“Yes, I do,” the man seemed to brighten at the prospect of spending more time with the Cross family.
“We will be at the ice rink around three,” Richie exclaimed. “You can’t miss it. It’s right in the middle of town. You can rent skates there, too.”
##
The Cross family returned to their home after lunch.
“I think I will just relax until time to go skating,” Leah kissed her wife lightly and went upstairs.
Mika went to find her son. They needed to talk. She knocked on Richie’s door. “Come in.”
“Richie, remember when you told me you thought you were in love with Amber,” Mika studied the boy’s face as she spoke. Richie nodded. “Did I just see a change, of course, today?”
Richie looked at the floor and blushed. “Father, she looks just like Mom. She is nice like Mom. She’s younger than Amber.”
“My point is, son, you will change the course of your affections several times before you find the woman with whom you want to spend your life.”
“Were you attracted to other women before you met Mom?” the boy asked, suddenly interested in the priest’s past.
“Yes, but I always knew they weren’t the one. I always kept looking,” Mika smiled. “But the minute I looked into your mom’s eyes; I knew she was the one. I also knew we would have a long road ahead of us to get permission to marry, but she was worth it.”
“I know how hard it was for you and Mom those two years,” the boy looked thoughtful, “but you never slept with her.”
“If you love someone,” Mika held the boy’s gaze, “you do everything in your power to protect them. You never do anything to hurt them, no matter how much you hurt.
“Richie, you’re already very handsome. You’re smart, talented and funny. You will have women crawling all over you as you grow up. Many of them will offer themselves to you without you even asking. Don’t accept. I know this sounds corny, but once you have sex with a woman, the relationship changes. If you discover you made a mistake, then you both live with guilt and sometimes a broken heart.”
“Did your relationship change with Mom, once you…uh…?” Richie stammered.
“It changed a great deal,” Mika nodded. “But we waited until we married, and it is truly wonderful. Your mother is everything I ever wanted. I just want you to have that same kind of relationship with the lucky girl who becomes your wife. Looks can be deceiving. Be certain what is on the inside is as pretty as what is on the outside.
“Marcus brought a woman who looks like your mom here for a reason.” The priest continued. “Don’t be fooled by a pretty face. Okay?”
Richie studied the priest for a long time. “You do know Mom was with others before she met you? Not just Emily.”
“Yes,” the priest cringed at the boy’s statement. “I know all about your mom’s past, but she never had control of her life. There was always someone in the wings waiting to push her in the wrong direction. Her mother, the Legion, Delilah, Samson and the king, they all took from her, giving her nothing in return. She had to become the Wicked Queen to battle the evil in her life.”
“I never thought about it that way,” Richie looked very sad. “Thanks Mika, for many things.”
“I’m proud of you, son, and I love you as if you were my own,” the priest smiled. “See you downstairs in an hour?”
Mika was surprised to find her wife in the hallway outside their son’s room. She put her arms around Mika’s neck and pulled her lips down to hers. “That was the nicest sex talk I have ever heard,” she whispered. “I want you so much, right now.”
“I know,” Mika grinned. “Just hold that feeling until Tuesday.”
##
Marcus and Dorie were already on the ice when the Cross family and Amber arrived.
Richie knelt and put on Amber’s skates while the priest knelt to put on Leah’s skates. Amber and Richie moved onto the ice and skated away.
Leah leaned forward and kissed her wife’s lips, gently moving her full, soft lips over hers. Mika moaned and pushed against her lips hungrily. Leah pulled back after several long seconds. “You know this is my second favorite thing for you to do on your knees.”
Mika looked at her with a blank stare and shook her head as if she had no idea what Leah was referring too. Leah leaned forward and whispered several sentences into her hear.
Mika pulled back from Leah with a shocked look on her face then flashed a brilliant smile, “I know,” she said, “I just wanted to hear you say it, Your Majesty.”
They stood hand in hand watching Amber and Richie skate. “They are beautiful together,” Leah noted. “We should bring home the couple’s trophy again this year. Are you and Richie skating Parent and Son?”
“Yes, and yes,” Mika squeezed her hand. “Richie deserves at least one trophy this year. What he did last year was very unselfish.”
Marcus and Dorie slid up to them. “The ice is great,” Dorie exclaimed. “I have never been on a rink so well kept.”
“You can thank the mayor for that,” the priest smiled at her wife. “She keeps everything in this town in tip-top shape.”
Dorie nodded as if she could totally believe that. “I bet she is responsible for the lovely Christmas decorations all over town, too. This town looks like a Currier and Ives Christmas card.”
“Do you skate, Madam Mayor?” Marcus asked.
“I do,” she smiled, pulling her wife onto the ice.
So much for getting to hold her while skating, Marcus thought.
As if the park sound system had been programmed just for them, When a Woman Loves a Woman began blaring from the speakers.
Forgetting everything else in the world, they skated as if the only thing that mattered was being in each other’s arms. They skated the same routine that had won them last year’s trophy. The crowd gasped when Mika threw Leah into the air, caught her high above her head, and then slid her slowly, sensuously down her body. The onlookers exhaled collectively as the couple spun around, Leah’s beautiful face only inches above the ice. Mika pulled Leah between her legs and slowly up her body to end the routine spinning with Leah’s arms around her neck. Mika’s hands were on the small of Leah’s back, pressing her tightly against her.
