Then they were both naked, and there was no way to take in all the heat of their skin as they fought to be closer, Devon hooked her legs around Marley’s powerful thrusts, needing the anchor to absorb every sensation.
“More,” Devon groaned into Marley’s ear.
Marley kissed Devon hard as she lifted herself just enough for Devon to move her hand over Marley’s ribcage, across her stomach, down past the sharp jut of her hipbone and right to the centre of her. Marley’s breath hitched as Devon opened her. She didn’t have it in her to be gentle, but she restrained herself enough to start slowly, circling her fingers over the wet hardness as Marley made strangled sounds and thrust into Devon’s hand. Devon loved the power of having utter control over Marley’s body with every stroke of her fingers. Marley’s eyes were closed, the muscles in her neck stood out, and she seemed so close to the edge.
Then suddenly Marley pulled herself away and put all her weight on one arm. The other hand drew a line down Devon’s body, from her jaw down her chest to her hips and between her legs in one long, heated stroke.
“I need you,” Marley said.
“Yes.”
Then Marley was inside her, and Devon was lost. There was no thought, just the shifting of bodies until Marley’s centre again pressed against her palm. She could not separate the sensations, heat and lust and that clamoring again in her body, muscles straining against the thrust and stroke of fingers until Devon felt like her head was going to explode. With one final yell and thrust from Marley, she did, her body unleashing an orgasm so powerful she closed her eyes as she shouted and rode out the tremors in their bodies.
It was sunlight again that woke her, this time accompanied by the slick feeling of sweat and the smell of sex. She was on her back now, Marley tucked against her side, head in the crook of her arm. Devon smiled at this culmination of who they were. Who they could be together.
“Our coffee is cold,” Marley said against Devon’s shoulders.
Devon laughed lightly. “We can heat it up in the microwave. Or make a new pot.”
“Mmm.”
Devon wondered if she’d gone back to sleep.
“And muffins,” Marley said after a few minutes. “Will you make me muffins?”
“I take it you’re hungry, love?”
Marley leaned back and smiled sleepily at Devon.
“I like that,” she said softly. “And I’m absolutely starving.”
Devon pulled Marley in for a long, sweet kiss.
“Then let’s go make something to eat.”
Epilogue
The courthouse was beautiful and gloomy on the March day Aimee West gave her final testimony against her father and Holly Mason. Because she was a minor, it took place in a small, wood-paneled office with only the attorneys, a court recorder, and a child lawyer present. Devon had taken the day off to sit in the hall with Carla and Marley on uncomfortable benches, taking turns getting coffee and oatmeal raisin cookies from the vending machine one floor down. It had been a long day and a long time coming, but it was finally over. Aimee had emerged from the final meeting looking pale, her expression unsure. But her eyes had lit up when she saw who was waiting for her.
Aimee and Carla were in the washroom, Aimee having insisted on getting two dresses for today, one for the testimony and one for when it was all over.
“She seem good to you?” Marley said, a variation of the question they’d been asking each other all morning.
“She’s strong. She’s going to be fine.” A variation of the answer they’d been giving each other all day.
“It’s too bad she had to miss school today.”
Devon shrugged. “Her teacher doesn’t seem worried. She’s the one who suggested mental health days whenever Aimee needs them.”
Aimee had started fourth grade in the fall. The first few weeks had seen tears and tantrums almost every evening, though her teacher reported she was doing fine at school. She was quiet and watchful, but compliant, and she took part in the classroom activities and routines. Aimee’s psychologist had suggested she was taking time to be a kid again. She was hyperaware she was not like the other kids, that she had experiences they didn’t. Shame still surfaced with heartbreaking frequency, Aimee still working through her part in her father’s drug business.
Devon pointed out that Aimee fell apart at home because it was her safe space. She held herself together all day and was working so hard to figure out who she was and how she belonged, so it wasn’t surprising she lost the fight at holding it together every night. She knew she had people who loved her and would pick her up.
The tantrums had faded, and Aimee had begun to adjust. She made friends, she went to therapy, she started swimming lessons and an art class. She talked and yelled and sang and screamed and laughed. She found her voice and used it.
Devon heard Marley sigh and ran a hand over her back.
“I just want this to be over,” Marley muttered.
“I know, love,” Devon said, kneading the muscle in the back of her neck and shoulders. The case was weighing heavily on Marley, and it would still be a few weeks until it was resolved. But the outcome looked good, according to Crawford.
He had enough evidence against both Randolph West and Holly Mason to put them both away for a long time. The lawyers had lined up experts to show how the two had masterminded a drug that attached itself to the dormant chickenpox vaccine, waking up the virus just enough when the drug was withdrawn that it reacted with odd side effects. The scientists would give the explanation and Aimee’s testimony would show how she’d been used as a guinea pig for testing. Marley wasn’t sure they were ever getting out of jail.
Once the opioid Z fallout had run its course, the number of cases of post-withdrawal syndrome, as Public Health had called it, peaked in the summer, then rapidly dropped off by early fall. Simms was leading a province-wide case study, helping other regions and municipalities know what to look out for. He had offered Marley a chance to be a part of his traveling road show, but she’d declined the offer.
“I’m glad we’re planning a trip,” Marley said, sitting up a bit straighter. “I desperately need something to look forward to.”
They were taking ten days in British Columbia, hiking in the mountains, eating a lot of food, and hiding out in a cabin in the woods together.
“Eight more weeks, then we’re on a plane,” Devon said.
“And we’ll plan our lives after?”
“Every moment.”
They had careers and homes and family to think about, including Carla and Aimee. They kept finding the joy, even in the scary details as Marley considered training for a new career and Carla talked about finding their own place in the summer. As their days blended and their relationship deepened, Devon acknowledged she’d never felt any love as deeply as the one she felt for Marley.
Marley looked like she was about to say something else when the door to the bathroom opened and Aimee walked out. Her dress for the testimony had been grey and navy. This one was dark pink with a light pink sash and Aimee had on a pair of white tights with pink and red hearts.
“Look!” Aimee yelled as she ran up to Devon and Marley and spun around. “It’s a twirly dress!”
Devon and Marley laughed. “It really is,” Devon said.
“Where to, Squirt?” Marley said, even though she knew the answer.
“Big lunch,” Aimee said. “Then the art gallery. Then comfy snuggles, blanket fort, and a movie with popcorn and ice cream.”
“I like the big lunch plan,” Carla said. “I’m starving.”
“Lead the way to the car, Miss Squirt,” Marley said with a grand sweep of her arm.
Aimee took Carla’s hand and they walked toward the main doors, peeking over her shoulder to make sure Devon and Marley followed. Devon took Marley’s hand and swung it between them as they walked.
“She did it,” Marley said. “She’s going to make it through.”
“We all are,” Devon said.
Marley squeezed her hand in agreement as they pushed open the doors to the cold March air.
About the Author
Jessica Webb spends her professional days working with educators to find the why behind the challenging behaviors of the students they support. Limitless curiosity about the motivations and intentions of human behavior is also a huge part of what drives her to write stories and understand the complexities of her characters and their actions. When she’s not working or writing, Jessica is spending time with her wife and daughter, usually planning where they will travel next. Jessica can be found most often on her favorite spot on the couch with a book and a cup of tea.
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
Entangled by Melissa Brayden. Becca Crawford is the perfect person to head up the Jade Hotel, if only the captivating owner of the local vineyard would get on board with her plan and stop badmouthing the hotel to everyone in town. (978-1-63555-709-1)
First Do No Harm by Emily Smith. Pierce and Cassidy are about to discover that when it comes to love, sometimes you have to risk it all to have it all. (978-1-63555-699-5)
Kiss Me Every Day by Dena Blake. For Carly Jamison, wishing for a do-over with Wynn Evans was a long shot, actually getting one was a game changer. (978-1-63555-551-6)
Olivia by Genevieve McCluer. In this lesbian Shakespeare adaption with vampires, Olivia is a centuries-old vampire who must fight a strange figure from her past if she wants a chance at happiness. (978-1-63555-701-5)
One Woman’s Treasure by Jean Copeland. Daphne’s search for discarded antiques and treasures leads to an embarrassing misunderstanding and, ultimately, the opportunity for the romance of a lifetime with Nina. (978-1-63555-652-0)
Silver Ravens by Jane Fletcher. Lori has lost her girlfriend, her home, and her job. Things don’t improve when she’s kidnapped and taken to fairyland. (978-1-63555-631-5)
Still Not Over You by Jenny Frame, Carsen Taite, and Ali Vali. Old flames die hard in these tales of a second chance at love with the ex you’re still not over. (978-1-63555-516-5)
Storm Lines by Jessica L. Webb. Devon is a psychologist who likes rules. Marley is a cop who doesn’t. They don’t always agree, but both fight to protect a girl immersed in a street drug ring. (978-1-63555-626-1)
The Politics of Love by Jen Jensen. Is it possible to love across the political divide in a hostile world? Conservative Shelley Whitmore and liberal Rand Thomas are about to find out. (978-1-63555-693-3)
All the Paths to You by Morgan Lee Miller. High school sweethearts Quinn Hughes and Kennedy Reed reconnect five years after they break up and realize that their chemistry is all but over. (978-1-63555-662-9)
Arrested Pleasures by Nanisi Barrett D’Arnuck. When charged with a crime she didn’t commit, Katherine Lowe faces the question: Which is harder, going to prison or falling in love? (978-1-63555-684-1)
Bonded Love by Renee Roman. Carpenter Blaze Carter suffers an injury that shatters her dreams, and ER nurse Trinity Greene hopes to show her that sometimes love is worth fighting for. (978-1-63555-530-1)
Convergence by Jane C. Esther. With life as they know it on the line, can Aerin McLeary and Olivia Ando’s love survive an otherworldly threat to humankind? (978-1-63555-488-5)
Coyote Blues by Karen F. Williams. Riley Dawson, psychotherapist and shape-shifter, has her world turned upside down when Fiona Bell, her one true love, returns. (978-1-63555-558-5)
Drawn by Carsen Taite. Will the clues lead Detective Claire Hanlon to the killer terrorizing Dallas, or will she merely lose her heart to person of interest urban artist Riley Flynn? (978-1-63555-644-5)
Lucky by Kris Bryant. Was Serena Evans’s luck really about winning the lottery, or is she about to get even luckier in love? (978-1-63555-510-3)
The Last Days of Autumn by Donna K. Ford. Autumn and Caroline question the fairness of life, the cruelty of loss, and what it means to love as they navigate the complicated minefield of relationships, grief, and life-altering illness. (978-1-63555-672-8)
Three Alarm Response by Erin Dutton. In the midst of tragedy, can these first responders find love and healing? Three stories of courage, bravery, and passion. (978-1-63555-592-9)
Veterinary Partner by Nancy Wheelton. Callie and Lauren are determined to keep their hearts safe but find that taking a chance on love is the safest option of all. (978-1-63555-666-7)
BOLDSTROKESBOOKS.COM
Looking for your next great read?
Visit BOLDSTROKESBOOKS.COM
to browse our entire catalog of paperbacks, ebooks, and audiobooks.
Want the first word on what’s new?
Visit our website for event info,
author interviews, and blogs.
Subscribe to our free newsletter for sneak peeks,
new releases, plus first notice of promos
and daily bargains
SIGN UP AT
BOLDSTROKESBOOKS.COM/signup
Storm Lines Page 25
