by Julie Cannon
Kyle dragged her mouth from the lips that had kissed every inch of her body. “I never thought I’d say this, but stop, please.” She gazed down the front of the open robe and her hands shook as she pulled the two pieces together. “I can’t leave when you kiss me like that, and when you’re dressed like this.”
Lane chuckled, running her thumb over Kyle’s bottom lip.
Kyle softly grabbed the tantalizing hand and held it to her heaving chest. “Stop, you’re killing me.”
“If I did, would an equally sensuously attractive detective interrogate me?”
Kyle growled. “No, you’d probably get Detective Buckner and let me assure you he’s no Adonis. His belly precedes him to every crime scene.”
Lane relented and took a step back. “Okay, I’ll take pity on you, but only because you have to go home and be a mommy. I don’t want your mind distracted from your active toddler. Someone could get hurt.”
This woman is something else. Not only does she make me scream with desire, but she isn’t threatened by Hollie. Kyle grinned. “Lane, something tells me you’ll never take pity on me.”
Lane retraced her step and slid sensuously up the firm body that was now pinned against her front door. “Detective, you’d be amazed at what I can do to you.”
Oh Christ!
Before Kyle could reply, Lane kissed her firmly yet briefly, and pushed her out the door.
Kyle faced the solid door not quite sure what had just happened. Her mind reeled from the feel of Lane’s body pressed up against hers, and she kept repeating Lane’s words, not quite able to believe what she’d heard. Tentatively, she knocked on the door.
“Lane?”
“Yes?” The muffled reply came instantly.
“Was that a threat or an invitation?”
Kyle heard laughter on the other side of the door.
“You’re the detective,” Lane said. “You figure it out.”
Chapter Ten
The sun was brighter, the air cleaner and the traffic lighter than Kyle had seen it in many months. Jesus, any minute I’ll be breaking into a Carpenter’s song. Her mind drifted as she drove the familiar streets home. She was mature enough to categorize her feelings about last night, but they were still a little unsettling. So where exactly do I categorize the best, mind blowing, physically satisfying, and emotionally connected sex I’ve ever experienced? Does it go under sex? Lust? Fucking?
Her panties soaked again as the image of Lane in her arms invaded her brain. She had been with many lovers but had connected with none as she had with Lane. As she pulled into the drive, she thought that even though she had known Lane for a few years, she really didn’t know her at all.
She had just closed the garage door when she heard the sound of car doors closing in her driveway. Shit. She wanted to change her clothes, and she would have preferred a long soak in the tub, but she had to settle for a fresh smile for her daughter returning home.
“Mama!” Hollie squealed as she toddled on shaky legs toward her. She was dressed in a yellow sundress and matching sandals with her dark hair secured out of her face by a banana barrette.
Kyle knelt down to catch her on the run. “There’s my big girl. Where have you been?” She smiled as her daughter pointed to her mother and father coming up the sidewalk. “Did you go night-night at Grandma’s house?”
Kyle was rewarded with a nodding head and two warm arms wrapped around her neck. As her parents approached, she hoped she looked normal. They’d always been able to read that I’ve done something look on her face especially if she was thrilled and excited by her deed. And the previous evening’s events definitely qualified. She even felt just a little bit naughty for almost being late due to her insatiable desire for Lane. It was too new to put it all into perspective, let alone talk about it and certainly not with her parents, at least not right away.
“Hi Mom, hey Dad. Come on in.” Kyle turned quickly to escape her mother’s critical eye.
Hollie clamored to be put down as soon as she entered the house. She ran to her bedroom, as she always did when she arrived home from a night away, eager to play once more with her favorite toys. Kyle took the diaper bag from her mother and set it on the washer in the laundry room.
“Can I get you something to drink?” She was parched. Must be from all that heavy breathing. She felt a faint blush rise on her face.
Her mother fixed her with an intent stare. “No thanks, nothing for me. We just had breakfast.” Sounding almost too casual, she added, “At The SandPiper.”
Kyle hesitated for a split second. “Really?”
“Yes, I looked for the owner, Lane isn’t it?” Constance was all innocence.
Kyle flushed again and nodded. “That’s right.” When she had dropped Hollie off Saturday morning, she had mentioned that she would be spending the day at The SandPiper painting.
“Well, we didn’t see her. She must have had other plans this morning.”
“That’s not what you said earlier,” Kyle’s dad said.
His wife cast him a scathing look. Kyle knew something was up, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.
She mimicked her father. “Yes, Constance, what did you say?”
Her mom shrugged. “Oh, for Pete’s sake, Constance. Kyle’s a grown woman. We know she dates, and occasionally I can even bring myself to admit that my daughter actually has—”
The rest of his sentence was cut off by simultaneous shrieks from the women in his life. Kyle figured from her father’s laughter that they must have had priceless looks on their faces.
“You two are something else.” Michael Bain said. “You,” he looked at his wife, “told me the owner of The SandPiper was interested in our daughter.” He turned toward Kyle. “And you have wet hair, and you’re wearing the same clothes as you were yesterday. I may be a sixty-eight-year-old white guy, but I can still put two and two together.”
Kyle didn’t know if she was surprised by her father’s observation or the fact that he had come right out with his conjecture. He wasn’t done, either. “What your mother actually said was that she hoped you and Lane had a good time last night. I would venture to say that you did. Now, Connie, can we get going? As much as I love this topic, there’s a game I want to watch that starts in half an hour.”
Kyle couldn’t believe she was standing here having a conversation about her love life with her parents. Now that she thought about it, she realized that her father had always been direct and this was no exception.
“I did have a good time,” she said, trying to sound as if she were quite at ease. “Thank you for asking. However I’m a bit embarrassed that you caught me at it.”
“It’s not the first time.”
“I was in high school that time,” Kyle objected.
Her father never let her forget that incident. He’d walked in on her kissing a girl in the basement. They’d both been scared to death that he would tell the other girl’s father, but all he did was calmly ask them to lock the door next time.
“Keep it up. You look great,” her father said approvingly.
“Thanks Dad.” No other response was necessary.
*
Lane was late for lunch with Christina. As usual, her best friend had somehow managed to find a parking space in front of the restaurant for her new Mercedes. Lane hurried inside and sat down.
“Sorry I’m late.” She sipped the iced tea that Christina had ordered for her.
“Oversleep?”
“Didn’t sleep at all and didn’t want to get out of bed even more.” She waited for Christina to process the information.
The waitress took their order and left them alone. “Is there a hidden meaning I should be aware of? Or did you have insomnia?” Christina concentrated on Lane’s face searching for her answer. She found it. “You slept with someone didn’t you? You go, girl! Who was it? Do I know her? How was it? How do you feel? How’s your heart?”
Lane held her hand up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. For heaven’s sake, ta
ke a breath will you?”
“Sorry, I’m just so happy for you. I’ve been wondering when you were going to take the plunge. I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been for you with Maria leaving and the transplant.”
“I know, and I appreciate the concern. You’re the best friend a girl could ever have, you know that?”
Christina nodded impatiently. “Is she hot?”
“Always so sensitive. I’m touched.”
“Someone had to ask,” Christina said without remorse.
“Her name is Kyle Bain, and she’s a detective with the La Jolla P.D. She’s been coming into the restaurant almost since we opened, and after I came back to work we started talking.”
“You started flirting,” Christina interpreted smugly.
“True,” Lane conceded. “I always knew she was interested in me but she never did anything inappropriate while Maria and I were together.”
“But now that everything’s changed,” Christina mused, “all bets are off.”
“I told her that Maria was gone. And she asked me out.”
“And one thing lead to another, and you slept with her?” Christina had a one track mind.
“Not right away. We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks.”
“What did she say about your transplant?” Christina knew Lane didn’t want to be treated any different because of her surgery.
“I didn’t tell her all the details.” Here it comes…
Christina dropped her fork. “You didn’t tell her? What did you do, fuck with your clothes on? If she’s a detective it’s obvious that she’s pretty sharp and certainly not blind.”
Christina had seen Lane’s scar and knew there was no way to hide it, even in the dark.
“I told her I’d had some surgery on my heart but that everything was okay now.” Lane knew what was coming next.
“Kind of chicken shit wouldn’t you say?”
“Christina.”
“Don’t Christina me. What if you’d had complications, or even worse a heart attack? You would have scarred the woman for life, no pun intended.”
“My cardiologist says I’m perfectly healthy, and I have no restrictions on my activities, and that includes sex. I feel fine. Actually, I feel fabulous.”
She did feel great, never more alive in her life. When Kyle touched her, fireworks exploded in every one of her senses. When she climaxed it was as if they were one. She blushed as she tried to remember just exactly how many times that was. Too many to count and too few to live on.
“You do look great,” Christina admitted. For months she’d been telling Lane she needed to get out more so she’d have that healthy glow once again. “But you are going to tell her, aren’t you?”
The question was one Lane constantly thought about. Kyle’s initial reaction to seeing the scar boded well. She wasn’t appalled; she seemed to accept it like an appendectomy. Lane wondered how she would react if she knew the entire story. Would she be morbidly curious, would she pull away or be afraid to touch her? All those scenarios had passed through Lane’s mind during her recovery period, when she was trying to imagine how she would get her life back together. Now, as she spent more time with Kyle, she still worried every now and then. But she felt reassured that her scar, at least, was not an issue.
“I’ll tell her as soon as the time is right,” Lane answered hesitantly, refusing to make eye contact with her best friend.
“Don’t leave it too long.” For a spoiled rich girl, Christina was very astute and totally committed to her friends.
“I won’t.” Lane sounded more truthful than she felt.
The two women talked for over an hour after finishing their lunch, catching up on their lives and mutual friends. As they exited the café Christina asked the question that Lane had asked herself several times. When are you going to see her again?
*
Lane’s phone was ringing when she opened the door. She tripped over her sandals on the way to the phone and almost fell. “Shit. Uh, hello?”
A familiar voice ran through her veins like warm water. “Lane? Are you okay? Did I call at a bad time?”
“No, I’m fine. I just tripped over my shoes and stubbed my toe as I came in. I guess that wasn’t the most polite way to answer the telephone.” Lane tossed the offending footwear across the room.
“Should I call back later, once you’ve had a chance to get settled?” Hollie had just gone down for her afternoon nap and Kyle had at least ninety minutes of peace and quiet before her life was not hers again.
“No, it’s fine really. How was Hollie after her night away?”
Hmm, the first thing she asked about was Hollie. “She always has fun with Mom and Dad. They were right on my heels as I pulled in the driveway. My dad commented on the fact that I had on the same clothes that I did when I dropped Hollie off.”
“He did what?”
“He also noticed my hair was still wet.” Kyle still could not believe the conversation they’d had earlier that morning.
“What did you say?”
“There wasn’t much I could say. My parents are pretty sharp, and the evidence was pretty clear.”
“Oh, God, I’m sorry. Was it really awkward?” Kyle had talked a lot about her parents and Lane didn’t think they would be angry or upset about the two of them together.
“No, actually Dad reminded me of the time he walked in on me with a girl in high school. That was embarrassing. This was, I don’t know, affirming.”
“Affirming?”
“Yeah, he winked at me and basically said I should get laid more.”
I’m going to die of embarrassment if I ever meet these people. “Ugh. I would have died if my father said that to me.” Lane’s family had readily accepted Maria as part of the family, but there was never any discussion or innuendo about their sex life.
Kyle chuckled. “I never thought he’d say something like that either. You know there’s that mutual unspoken denial that your parents or your kids ever have sex. That’s not true in my family. Dad said I look great.”
Lane relaxed. “I’ll second that. You are great. You smell great, and sound great, and feel great. You know, I’d be happy to help you with the getting laid part.”
A flush of desire raced through Kyle at the sultry tone of Lane’s voice. “Thanks, you were pretty amazing yourself.” The image of Lane writhing on her bed flashed in her mind. “I’ve been thinking about what you said when I left this morning, and since I am a great detective, I’ve come to the conclusion that you want to see me again.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” Kyle’s voice was husky.
“Would you put your reputation on it?”
“I’d rather put my body on you.”
Oh man, she’s good. “I can’t argue against irrefutable evidence now can I?”
“You can, but I can make a very compelling case if I have to.”
“Is that a threat or an invitation?”
Touché. Kyle glanced at the clock. It was too early for Hollie to be awake, but she heard the first tentative cries coming from her room down the hall. “Neither, I’m just accepting an already issued invitation.”
“Wonderful. But it sounds like somebody needs your attention more than I do right now,” Lane said. “Go take care of her and call me later, okay?”
“You got it.” This woman was amazing.
*
Kyle spent the rest of the weekend with Hollie, but her mind kept drifting to Lane. She lost count of the number of times she reached for the phone to call her, but Hollie always had other ideas.
Even when she was exhausted, thoughts of Lane kept Kyle from sleeping. When she closed her eyes, she could smell Lane’s arousal, taste her soft skin, hear her cries of pleasure. Her fingers tingled remembering her firm muscular body. When she held Lane in her arms, it was as though she’d been born there.
Kyle arrived at The SandPiper soon after opening time on Monday morning and found a table o
n the patio, content to watch Lane’s sleek movements as she prepared for the day. She hadn’t yet noticed Kyle’s arrival, so Kyle took the opportunity to gaze openly at the woman who occupied her thoughts.
Lane was chatting with a group of men gathered for a breakfast meeting. Long, smooth, muscular legs snaked out of pressed khaki shorts. Kyle swallowed hard as she remembered those legs wrapped around her thigh in passion. The sleeves of Lane’s white long sleeve T-shirt were pushed up, revealing strong, tanned forearms. When she leaned down to listen to one of the customers, every pair of eyes at the table dropped to the front of her shirt.
Lane’s manner was that of a woman confident in her own skin. Envisioning that skin beneath the loose fitting clothes, Kyle licked her lips and her blood pulse increased it’s already rapid tempo. Her eyes were not the only ones following Lane around the patio. But she knew things the other admirers didn’t. Like what her skin felt like and tasted like. How it quivered when she approached orgasm, and how she trembled for long minutes after. Behind her dark sunglasses she watched Lane. I know what you like, what your body craves, and how you respond to my touch in those special places. You’re absolutely beautiful. Turn around. Look at me and see that I know these things about you.
At that moment, Lane turned and stopped in mid-stride. Color rushed to her cheeks.
Kyle smiled at her, and for several long seconds it seemed as if they were completely alone, recognizing that nothing else mattered but each other. The clinking of silverware and the murmur of scattered conversations disappeared. The sound of the waves gently cresting on the beach nearby seemed to grow in intensity and matched the rapid beating of her heart. Lane was hers for the taking, and she was going to grab the moment and hold it tightly.
Lane’s heart rate soared and her blood raced through her body and settled in the throbbing spot between her legs. Kyle was sitting and seemed so relaxed, with her legs crossed and a sultry smile on her face. The hands that had touched her intimately were wrapped around a coffee cup. Arms that held her tight when she trembled with aftershocks of orgasm were resting on the thighs that pressed up against her in the heat of their passion. The look on Kyle’s face mirrored the thoughts that Lane tried unsuccessfully to control all weekend. Her smile broadened as Lane approached.
