Marked for Love

by Hannah West

  Sara nodded. “Otherwise you’d have to sleep naked.” She winked.

  Noelle blushed. “Not this time. Or. You know. Most times.”

  Sara chuckled, her smile knowing. “Someday.” She kissed Noelle again and started the walk to the bedroom. It wasn’t far away, and walking didn’t seem to bother her too much. That was a relief, at least to Noelle.

  Noelle followed her into the bedroom, rifling through Sara’s drawers and pulling out two pairs of pyjamas. “Do you need help with the laundry?”

  Sara shook her head. “Dryer was a bit hard, but the washer wasn’t too difficult.”

  Noelle nodded, handing Sara her clothes. Unselfconsciously Sara stripped off her shirt, then her slacks, not seeming bothered by the fact she was standing there in her lingerie. Then she reached back, unhooked her bra and slid it off.

  “Want a show?” Sara asked, grinning.

  Noelle realized she was staring - not that she could particularly help it - and forced herself to look away. “Er. Sorry bout that.”

  Sara came closer, smiled. “I wouldn’t show them if I didn’t feel comfortable with you looking,” she said, her voice gentle.

  Noelle looked at her face - and then did her best to not glance down at her breasts. “Oh.”

  Sara chuckled, reaching for the t-shirt and slowly, carefully pulling it on.

  Noelle almost mournfully watched her put the shirt on. She did have lovely breasts. Glancing down at the clothes she was borrowing, Noelle took a deep breath and unbuttoned her jacket, then her shirt, sliding the fabric off of her shoulders and into her hands. She placed it on the back of Sara’s chair, far too cognizant of the fact she was wearing just her bra and pants.

  She felt hands on her shoulders, sliding down her arms, and Sara pressed a kiss to the inside of her neck. “Hello,” Sara murmured, her voice husky as she moved slightly, going around to Noelle’s front.

  “I thought you weren’t up for anything,” Noelle said, meeting Sara’s eyes and trying not to blush or hide herself. It was strange, being under such scrutiny. But it was also arousing.

  Sara smiled slightly, then kissed Noelle on the lips. “Not really. But I couldn’t resist.” She gently pulled Noelle close, held her for a moment, eyes locked with hers.

  Noelle felt like she was drowning in Sara’s eyes, in her scent, in her warmth. She wanted to hold onto Sara and never let her go. “I really like you.”

  Sara’s smile was warm, instead of her normal thin-lipped, secretive smile. There was an undercurrent to it that Noelle liked less - pain, or fear, she couldn’t tell. “I like you too.” She kissed Noelle briefly and then turned back to the bed.

  Feeling better about herself, Noelle slid her pants off, wiggling the slacks down her hips. The slacks joined her shirt and jacket on the chair. For a moment, she contemplated just sleeping in her underclothes - they were fairly comfortable. But instead she pulled on the shirt, then unclipped her bra and tugged it off. She wasn’t comfortable being completely shirtless yet, not even around Sara. The pyjama pants were next, and she had to roll them several times to make them fit.

  “They look good on you,” Sara said.

  Noelle raised her eyebrows. “If only you weren’t so damned tall.”

  “It’s not my fault you’re short.” Sara laughed.

  Noelle pretended to scowl, proceeding to crawl into bed next to Sara. “I’m not that short. Above average for women. You’re just freakishly tall.”

  Sara propped herself up on her back, as carefully as she could. “You like that I’m tall.”

  Noelle conceded the point with a head tilt. “It is quite beneficial,” she said, as drolly as she could.

  “Works to your advantage.” Sara winked. She stifled a yawn.

  Noelle smiled. She curled up against Sara’s side, fighting off a yawn of her own. “I’ll be up early,” she warned.

  “There are extra towels in the linen closet,” Sara murmured, trying to keep her eyes focused on Noelle. Instead they fluttered closed, and Noelle watched as Sara started to drift off to sleep.

  “Night,” Noelle said, kissing Sara’s cheek gently.

  Noelle made it to work earlier than she had expected, given that Sara had wanted to have breakfast together. She even made it home and dressed. “Anything new overnight?” she asked Riley, putting her purse down on her desk and grabbing her meals to put in the fridge.

  Riley tilted his hand so-so. “Interrogation got another confession out of her, but...”

  “But?” Noelle tilted her head, quizzical.

  Riley frowned. “Something about it just seems off. I can’t put my finger on it.”

  Noelle’s heart lept. “I thought the same thing, last night -”

  “Last night?” Riley raised his eyebrows suggestively. “Is that what you do in your free time?”

  Noelle swatted him on the arm. “I meant at the crime scene.”

  “That would be yesterday morning.” He winked, clearly pleased with himself.

  She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “There’s something off with the murder weapon - it seems larger than she could comfortably use. And the crime scene looked - off.”

  Riley considered what she said. “Still, she confessed. And the confession is consistent with the forensic evidence.”

  “Can I see the full confession?” Noelle asked. “And all the forensics reports so far.”

  Riley glanced around. “They’re done, and as much detail as we need. Not sure Loryn slept at all, though. I’ll make copies for you while you’re settling in with the videos. Look in Room B.”

  Noelle nodded, heading to one of the small video rooms that they could use to watch recordings of interrogations. For all that she wasn’t there for the rest of it, she wanted to catch up on anything that she might have missed. Samantha hadn’t seemed like a killer, not to her - but not all killers seemed like killers. Besides, they were bonded mates. That was what confused Noelle the most.

  Not that bonded pairs couldn’t have killed each other - Noelle had seen a few cases of that. But from what she had heard from the other officers, there simply wasn’t a good explanation of what would have caused Samantha to act out. Besides, the forensic evidence was, to her, mixed at best.

  She pressed start on the tape and watched the petite woman - a former dancer, Noelle remembered - sit at the table, handcuffed to the desk. She watched her and Riley exchange cordial questions - watched as the interrogation shifted and the other officers became more demanding. She looked for changes in demeanor, anything and everything that could potentially be used to demonstrate whether or not the woman was actually guilty.

  The confession was the most interesting bit. Noelle watched it twice, reading through the forensic reports that Riley had brought. They were frustrating. Everything the reports said matched up with what Samantha had said. She seemed like the guilty party.

  But for some reason, Noelle couldn’t shake the idea that there was more to the case.

  Noelle sighed as she headed into her apartment. It was four in the morning and she had just gotten home. She had spent most of the afternoon and evening pouring over evidence, talking to witnesses - trying to sort out the schedule for the next few weeks. She and Riley were leading the detective work, but they weren’t working around the clock.

  She hated one of the detective pair they were working with. The head of their Homicide precinct was already talking about wrapping the case up. Riley would lead, and Noelle would be right by his side. Then there would be Isaac and Dominic, two of the detectives that had given her the most flack since she started working. Loryn would lead the forensic part, and be their liason between the detectives and forensics.

  For all Samantha had confessed, it wouldn’t have been the first time a confession had gone rogue and they had been tossed into a trial instead. They still wanted to have all the info on their side. Noelle was grateful, in a way. Staying involved with the case, being required to work on it, would let her search more into what was bothering
her.

  Tossing her purse onto the small stand near the door, she pulled out her phone for the first time all day. There were three messages, all from Sara. Noelle winced. She had meant to text her, ask how she was doing - Sara’s first shift back started in just a few hours. Noelle glanced at her watch. Three hours.

  Stifling a yawn, she read the texts. Nothing urgent. Simple, chatty ones. Still, it warmed Noelle’s heart that Sara had thought of her.

  Noelle tensed, and winced. Tomorrow was their first Loss meeting since - well, the last one. Since she had accidentally broached Sara’s trust. Since she had tried to talk about things that - felt like they were best kept secret. This time she wouldn’t make the same mistake. Not that she had had time to do any more looking into Clark or Ivan - the Kennedy case was going to keep her busy for the foreseeable future.

  She texted Sara a quick response - an apology, and an inquiry to how she was doing. Even if she couldn’t reply in a timely manner, she wanted to at least show that she cared enough to reply at all. That was reasonable, wasn’t it? Noelle walked in to her bedroom, plugging in her cellphone and changing into pyjamas, stifling a yawn.

  Mentally Noelle catalogued exactly when she had to go back into work, and how long she had to be there. She had to leave early enough for her meeting. Stupid thing. She would have to talk with Ty at some point about when she could stop going.

  It couldn’t be forever. Right?

  She groaned, lifting up her head and letting it fall back against the pillow. It didn’t make any noise. There wasn’t a thunk. It wasn’t very satisfying.

  Her mind was whirling too fast to think. Thinking about her other cases, the ones that would get pushed aside while she pursued the Samantha case, looking for witnesses, corraborators - anything and everything that could tell them more about what actually happened in the bedroom that night. Tomorrow she planned to review the evidence, and see where that led. Forensics were almost done with the reports - Loryn would make sure they were finished by the end of the week. Those that could be finished, anyway.

  That was one of the worst parts, waiting on DNA results. All those tests that took weeks and weeks for conclusive results. Still, they could work with what they had. And they would. It wouldn’t be the first time the department had tackled a high-profile case. Riley had led before. He knew what to do. It would be okay.

  Finally Noelle let herself go to sleep. It would all be fine.

  The drive to the Loss Meeting was far too short, in Noelle’s opinion. She had spent all day going over the evidence and interviewing a couple of Kennedy’s neighborhors. Then there had been a meeting with Isaac and Dominic. Neither of them had paid any attention to her, primarily focusing on Riley and his contributions. By the time the meeting had been over, Noelle was tense and aggravated.

  And the department was inches away from closing the case for now.

  Riley had wisely left her to go over her notes in peace. She had found an empty interrogation room and spent the next few hours pouring over files, until her alarm had reminded her that she needed to leave. After locking up the files, she had left without a word to anyone but Riley.

  It wasn’t the best or most mature way to act, but she didn’t care at that point. She parked and got out of her car, tossing her purse over her shoulder with short, jerky movements. She glanced around the parking lot, as she always did, and froze. Was that Clark?

  She blinked, and he was gone.

  Was she imagining things now? Was that really him, or was she just distracted after the long day?

  Mentally she shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She couldn’t afford to be distracted by stuff like that. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t who he said he was, and - Sara could tell her her story when it was time.

  Inwardly Noelle groaned. Was she doubting what Sara had said? Did she believe her? Of course she did. Didn’t she?

  Forcing her mind off of the track it was going, she headed inside for the meeting and took her normal spot next to Sara. “Hello,” she said quietly, hesitant to speak above the voices of everyone else.

  Sara smiled slightly. “Long day?”

  Noelle rubbed her eyes. “Three, maybe four hours of sleep,” she said.

  Sara reached out and patted her shoulder, the movement jerky from pain. “Do you have time for dinner afterwards, maybe?”

  Noelle shook her head, apologetic. “I need to get some sleep before work tomorrow.”

  Sara glanced around, and then pulled out her phone, fingers flying across the keys. She looked up at Noelle expectantly.

  Noelle picked up her phone, watching the screen come alive with a new message. I could come sleep with you.

  Noelle raised her eyebrows. Was that suggesting what she thought it was?

  Sara rolled her eyes, typing out another message. Not in that way. Just - I hate sleeping alone. It hurts more.

  Noelle’s eyes softened. She liked sleeping with Sara, too - it was comforting, having that other body there. Come over after the Meeting? she texted back.

  I’ll grab my overnight bag, and then come over. I could bring Chinese? Sara smiled.

  Noelle chuckled ruefully. Sounds like a plan. Looked like she would get dinner after all.

  The meeting went better than expected, in that neither Noelle nor Sara said much of anything. They introduced themselves, of course, but neither asked questions. Instead they shared secret, knowing glances, soft, apologetic touches. It wasn’t anything blatant. But Sara almost dropped something, so Noelle caught it. Noelle’s purse tipped over, and Sara fixed it - Noelle meeting her halfway. They were careful, not wanting anyone else to catch on.

  And then Noelle had gone home, changed immediately in to pyjamas, not caring what Sara would think. She was exhausted. All she wanted to do was eat, sleep, and then deal with tomorrow, tomorrow. With Sara there, she was rather certain that her mind wouldn’t whirl like it had the night before. Or if it did, she would have a much better distraction.

  There was a knock on the door. Waking up from a doze, Noelle stood, making her way to the door and unlocking it. Slowly she opened it, smiling at Sara on the other side. “This time it’s your favorites,” Sara said, lifting the bag of takeout from where it was.

  Noelle laughed. “It’s nice to alternate.”

  “Someday we should get something healthier,” Sara mused. This time it was her who took the takeout into the kitchen. “It’s still warm.”

  Noelle followed, lifting up to grab plates and pull them down so Sara didn’t have to stretch her ribs. She hid a yawn with her arm. “Sorry.”

  Sara smiled, hugging her about the waist, careful to not be hit by Noelle’s arm. “Don’t apologize. It’s okay.” Noelle smiled, sleepy, and pulled out utensils. She moved when Sara shooed her out of the way, leaning against the counter and trying not to doze off.

  “Still awake?” Sara said softly.

  Noelle’s eyes jolted open; she had dozed off standing up. “Awake.” She cringed as her stomach made a noise.

  “And hungry, too.” Sara laughed and pressed a kiss to Noelle’s cheek. She picked up her plate and headed in to the living room. Noelle smiled to herself, picking up her dinner and following.

  They exchanged smiles and settled next to each other, eating quietly. Noelle was too tired for small talk, and Sara didn’t seem too chatty either, something Noelle was grateful for.

  She ate less than she anticipated, likely due to how tired she was. Still, she tried to clean her plate. Yawning, she sat it down in front of her. She tried to hide her second yawn, then a third. “I’ll put them in the dishwasher,” Sara said, picking up the plates and walking them into the kitchen.

  “You can just put them on the counter,” Noelle said, stifling a yawn mid-sentence. She hated being tired. As a cop, or a detective, it meant potential danger. But it didn’t seem quite as scary, not around Sara.

  “Done,” Sara said, coming back into the room. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of Noelle’s head. “Time for
bed before you fall asleep on the couch.”

  Noelle leaned her head back to look at her, trying to look stern instead of scowly. “My couch isn’t that uncomfortable.”

  Sara raised her eyebrows and pressed a hand into the cushioning. “It’s not that bad.”

  Noelle sighed. “Defending the integrity of my couch. What is the world coming to?”

  Sara laughed. “Up you go, darling.”

  Noelle scowled good-naturedly, carefully getting into a standing position. She wobbled a bit more than she would have liked, but overall she wasn’t too tired. It could have been worse. Sara stood right next to her, and Noelle smiled. “You called me darling.”

  Sara paused. She looked startled, something that surprised Noelle. Quickly she recovered her composure, her thin lips curving into a smile. “I did. Is that okay?”

  Noelle’s heart skipped a beat. Was it? Did she like it? “I don’t hate it,” she said quietly. She smiled shyly. A pet name. She had a pet name.

  “Good.” Sara wrapped an arm around Noelle’s hips. “Let’s go to bed.”

  Noelle quirked her eyebrows. “Not up for fun.”

  Sara swatted her hip playfully. “I know that.” A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “We use the same bad jokes every time.”

  Noelle slowly led the way to her bedroom, her mind foggy from lack of sleep. She yawned as she took off her top, changing into her pyjamas. “Does it bother you?” she asked, feeling feeling oddly brave.

  Sara lifted her head, from where she was slowly changing clothes. She had brought an overnight bag. Her ribs were healing, which meant she could mostly dress herself. She still struggled with the pants sometimes. “Does what bother me?”

  Noelle waved a hand, pulling a shirt on and then taking off her bra. “That we don’t - you know.”

  Sara raised her eyebrows. “That we don’t ‘have sex’?” She made air-quotes with her fingers.

  Noelle blushed, then nodded.

  Sara shrugged. “I’m not in any hurry.” She grabbed her shirt and pulled it on slowly. Then her pants. “It’s not a race, after all.”