by MJ Duncan
Anna ducked her head as a small, pleased smile curled her lips. “Oh.”
It was astounding to think that she could have such an effect on a woman like Anna Fitzpatrick, and Bryn’s heart fluttered into her throat as she returned Anna’s smile with a shy one of her own. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” Anna murmured, a light blush creeping over her cheeks. “It is.”
In that moment, it was as if the world around them disappeared completely as Bryn tipped her head in a small bow and whispered, “Good.”
Forty-Two
The feeling of Anna drawing light circles on her palm and raking her nails just as softly up and down the length of her fingers was heaven, and Bryn smiled as she glanced over at her. “You keep that up, Ms. Fitzpatrick, and I will not be held responsible for driving us right off the road,” she murmured as she made no effort to pull her hand away.
Anna’s fingers paused mid-stroke for a moment, before resuming their slow circuit around Bryn’s palm, dipping down to caress the sensitive skin of her inner wrist. “You said you were fine to drive home.”
“I am.” They had lingered so long at their table, enjoying both the incredible food and the exquisite 2006 Audrey Pinot Noir Bryn had selected, that the tables around them had filled and emptied twice before they left the restaurant. “But you are being positively distracting.”
Anna laughed, the sound a low, rich rumble that sent a delicious shiver rolling down Bryn’s spine, and stilled her fingers. “Sorry?”
“Don’t be.” Bryn smiled and forced herself to look back at the road. The bridge into Wellington was just up ahead, gray concrete and golden light stretching over the dark nothingness of the river, which meant that they were, at most, fifteen minutes from Anna’s house. “I like it. A lot.”
“Me too.” Anna threaded their fingers together and held Bryn’s hand on her lap. She stared out the windshield as they bumped over the bridge, the quiet hum of rubber on asphalt shifting to a louder whine marked by the steady thwump, thwump, thwump of the lines cut into the concrete. “Oh. I meant to ask you earlier, what are you doing for Halloween?”
Bryn shrugged, thrown for a moment by the change in topic. “I honestly hadn’t thought about it. It’s not like I get any trick-or-treaters out at Spectrum. Why?”
“Memorial is hosting a fundraising gala that night—you know, dinner and dancing and a charity auction, the usual ‘hey we need money, help us out’ type of thing—and I was wondering if you’d like to go with me? I mean, if you’re not comfortable with it, you don’t have to. I just thought it’d be fun, and Holloway and Erica and Di and Thom will all be there, so it doesn’t have to be a thing, I just…”
Anna’s rambling was adorable, and Bryn smiled as she gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I would love to accompany you to the gala.”
“You would?” Anna asked, sounding both relieved and surprised. “Really?”
In reality, the idea of attending an event like that as Anna’s date was mildly discomforting, but the thought of disappointing Anna was worse. “Of course.” Bryn nodded. “Is it black tie, or…?”
“Not exactly,” Anna said, glancing at Bryn. “Because it’s on Halloween, it’s…”
“A masquerade ball?” Bryn guessed.
“In a sense. But not that fancy. It’s just a costume thing.” Anna shrugged. “I was kind of thinking it would be fun to, I dunno, maybe do a group costume thing. You know, you and me, Holloway, Di, and everybody.”
“You do, do you?” Bryn drawled. “And what kind of group costume idea do you have planned?”
Anna grinned. “Remember that Black Widow costume you told me about a while ago?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Bryn deadpanned with a smirk as she shook her head.
“Of course you don’t,” Anna chuckled. “Anyway, since Holloway is determined to be Captain America, I thought it’d be fun if we did an Avengers thing.”
“Everybody else is okay with that?”
“I haven’t pitched it to them yet. I wanted to run it by you first.”
“I’ll do whatever you like.” Bryn nodded. “If you can get them all to agree, it would be fun.”
“You’ll do whatever I like, huh?” Anna asked, taking Bryn’s hand and sliding it higher up her thigh.
Bryn laughed and nodded. “Yes. I will do whatever you would like.” She pulled her hand back with more than a little regret. “Though that should probably wait until I’m not driving.”
Anna caught her hand before she could pull it completely away, and nodded as she held it on her lap. “Probably a good idea.”
“If it makes you feel better,” Bryn said, flicking the fingers of her hand on the steering wheel toward the windshield, “we’re almost home.”
“Good.”
“Are you really that eager for this evening to be over with?” Bryn teased. “I thought you enjoyed dinner.”
“I did.” Anna nodded and smoothed her thumb over the back of Bryn’s hand. “Very much. I just really want to kiss you right now.”
Bryn’s breath caught in her throat and she glanced at Anna. “Oh.”
“Mmm,” Anna purred, tucking her left leg under herself as she turned to face Bryn. Her smile was mischievous, and Bryn found it incredibly difficult to keep her eyes on the road. “And I really want you to kiss me. I want to feel your breath against my skin as you help me out of this dress…”
Bryn groaned. She had succeeded in not thinking about such a scenario all night, but now that Anna suggested it in that smoky voice of hers, it was the only thing she could think about. Smooth skin, so soft and warm and perfect, revealed to her by inches as she pulled the zipper of Anna’s dress down…down…down…
She pressed the accelerator harder, and wished there was a way for them to just magically arrive in Anna’s driveway. The end of the bridge was in sight, but even then, they still had too far left to go. “Ms. Fitzpatrick,” Bryn murmured warningly.
Anna chuckled and leaned the side of her head against the headrest. “I love when you call me ‘Ms. Fitzpatrick’.”
“That explains so much,” Bryn muttered wryly, glancing at Anna out of the corner of her eye.
Anna laughed. “Right?”
“Indeed.”
Anna shook her head and motioned toward the road ahead with her free hand. “Just drive, Nakamura.”
“I am,” Bryn muttered under her breath. She took a deep breath as Anna’s right hand began drawing faint lines over the back of her own that was still cradled on Anna’s lap. Up and down, slowly, softly, dipping beneath the cuff of her shirtsleeve and then back to her knuckles, again and again and again in the most gentle caress until they finally arrived in Anna’s driveway.
She leaned over to steal a kiss as she pulled the key from the ignition. “Just hold on a second, okay?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.” Bryn climbed out of the car and hurried around to passenger’s side. She held out her hand as she opened the door, and smiled when Anna took it and stepped gracefully from the car. The air around them crackled with the promise of what was to come as they made their way up the walk to the front porch. The lone bulb hanging above the door bathed the stoop in welcoming light, and Bryn could not resist leaning in to kiss Anna as they stopped on the thick welcome mat in front of the door.
Anna’s lips tasted faintly of wine and chocolate, and Bryn sighed as she slipped her hands through the open flap of Anna’s coat to grab onto her hips. She pulled Anna into her, and her stomach flipped at the soft whimper that escaped Anna as their bodies pressed together. “Thank you for a wonderful evening,” Bryn whispered.
Anna smiled and nuzzled Bryn’s cheek. “Thank you.” She brushed a quick kiss over Bryn’s lips before pulling away to unlock her front door. She took Bryn’s hand as she pushed it open, and arched an inquiring brow. “Come in?”
Bryn did not have to be asked twice. “Of course, Ms. Fitzpatrick,” she said as she stepped over the
threshold and pulled Anna inside with her. Their gazes locked as the door slammed shut, and Bryn wasted no time freeing Anna from her coat. “I really do love this dress,” she murmured as she ran her hands down Anna’s sides and over her hips.
“Just you wait, then,” Anna sassed with a playful wink as she took Bryn’s hands in her own. “Because it looks even better on my bedroom floor.”
Bryn laughed as she allowed Anna to pull her toward the stairs. “I bet it does.”
Forty-Three
Bryn double-checked the time and shook her head. She needed to go get ready for Memorial’s charity gala, but she did not want to leave the winery until Gerald had finished checking the fermentation tanks. The tanks were filled with the last batch of grapes from the harvest, and Gerald had been having some difficulty getting the acidity levels where he wanted them.
“So?” she called out as Gerald closed up the last tank.
He nodded. “Good. Got them all back where we need them to be.”
Bryn nodded as an invisible weight lifted from her shoulders. “Excellent.”
“Indeed,” Gerald agreed. “Two more days, and this should all be ready to be casked.”
“Perfect.” Bryn checked the time again and sighed. “I’m afraid I need to get going.”
Gerald grinned and gave her a small farewell salute. “Tell Ms. Fitzpatrick that I say hello.”
“I will.” Bryn smiled to herself as she walked out the door, paying the scenery around her little attention as she jumped behind the wheel of the UTV and sped up the hill toward her house.
The laborers Gerald had hired to handle the harvest had spent a month trimming the vines back to get ready for the next season. This meant that instead of being surrounded by a sea of green, stark lines of barren vines cut viciously across the land, rows of promise that would remain unfulfilled until the next growing season came along. It was the time of year that left her feeling off-balance in years past, trapped between activity and idleness, but this year was different. For the first time since she had bought Spectrum, she was not dreading the dark months of winter where activity at the vineyard all but ground to a halt, leaving her with days and weeks to try and fill to keep from going mad.
She had enjoyed various degrees of contentment throughout her life, but she was quite certain that this was the first time she had ever been truly happy. Her little winery had a banner year in terms of volume, Gerald seemed convinced that their end product was going to be superb, and she had Anna.
More than anything happening in her life right now, it was Anna’s presence that enriched it the most.
She pulled off her boots in the mud room and hurried through the house, checking the time again and groaning as she unlocked the front door. She was going to be late. Her only saving grace at this point was the fact that she had already laid her outfit out on her bed—not that the ninety seconds that took was going to make much of a difference in the end.
She rushed through her shower, and jumped out to the sound of her cell ringing and vibrating on the vanity beside the sink. It was Anna’s tone, and Bryn sighed as she hurried to answer it.
“Hi.”
“Hi, yourself,” Anna greeted her warmly, and then started laughing as Di and Mitch mocked her loudly in the background. Everybody had chipped-in to cover the rental of a party bus for the evening so that they could enjoy the evening without worrying about getting home safely, and because Bryn knew that she would be working before the event, Anna arranged it so that she was the last pick up to give her a little more time. Not that it ended up helping matters much. “You about ready? We’re on our way to pick you up now.”
Bryn put the phone on speaker and began toweling her hair dry. “I wish. Things took longer than I expected down at the winery this afternoon, so I just got out of the shower.”
“Thanks for that mental image. Appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” Bryn smiled and started drying her legs. “Just come on in when you get here. Get everybody a glass of wine or something while you all wait, and I’ll get done as fast as I can.”
“Can I come back and help you get ready?”
Bryn could hear the smirk in Anna’s voice, and she laughed as she shook her head. “Sadly, I don’t think that’s the best idea for us all getting to the gala on time. Besides,” she added as she stepped into a pair of slinky black briefs, “I just put on my panties. All the fun stuff is going to be done before you get here. It’s my hair and everything that’s going to take the longest.”
“Damn.”
“If you’re a good girl, maybe I’ll let you help me get undressed later tonight.”
“Mmm,” Anna purred. “And if I’m a bad girl?”
Bryn froze with her bra hanging loosely from her shoulders as the sound of Diana and everybody laughing raucously on the other end of the phone. “Honestly, Ms. Fitzpatrick?” she grumbled, rolling her eyes as she reached behind herself to clasp her bra.
“Sorry,” Anna chuckled. “I kinda forgot they were all here.”
“Right,” Bryn drawled, stretching the single syllable out for a good six beats.
“Anyway,” Anna declared, raising her voice as if that made her awkward segue less so. “Yes, darling. I will get everybody a glass of wine or something while we wait. You want me to bring you back anything?”
“Just you,” Bryn murmured with a smile. “And a kiss.”
“That, I can definitely do. We’ll be there in a few,” Anna promised before ending the call.
Bryn took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror, calculating how long it would take her to get ready. Her hair always took a good fifteen minutes, and her makeup at least that long. Add another handful to get into her costume, and she really needed to get moving.
Because her house was about to be overrun with people, Bryn pulled on the base of her costume to at least be covered up in case anyone ventured back with Anna. The black, body-hugging jumpsuit that zipped up the front was an exact replica of the one Scarlett Johansson wore in the movies, right down to the belt and the S.H.I.E.L.D patch on the shoulder. The thigh holsters she would put on later. Bryn slipped her arms into the sleeves and then clipped the belt around her waist, and zipped the jumpsuit to just above her breasts as she wandered back into her bathroom to begin the rest of the process.
She had just finished her hair when Anna sauntered into her bathroom in a strikingly familiar black jumpsuit. In fact, the only difference between Anna’s outfit and her own was that the only fabric encircling Anna’s waist was attached to her twin thigh holsters. Which, Bryn saw as she inspected them more closely, held a pair of bright blue water guns that she wouldn’t be surprised if they were filled. Anna’s hair was pulled back, and she moved with a swagger that was even more pronounced than usual. Her blue eyes sparkled as their gazes locked in the mirror, and Bryn chuckled as she put two-and-two together. “Agent Hill.”
“Hey, beautiful,” Anna drawled, winking she wrapped her arms around Bryn’s waist from behind. “I mean… Miss Romanov. Nice outfit.”
Bryn closed her eyes as Anna’s hands dipped down over the front of her thighs, stroking as low as she could reach before moving higher, over the flat of her stomach to palm her breasts. “Anna…”
“Bryn.” Anna nipped at Bryn’s earlobe as she gave the tab between Bryn’s breasts a small tug. “Can I see if this zipper works?”
Bryn sucked in a shaky breath and countered, “Does yours?”
“Just for you,” Anna whispered huskily.
Bryn groaned. “You’re trouble…”
Anna laughed. “So do I still get to kiss you?”
“You better,” Bryn muttered as she turned and pulled Anna’s mouth down to her own. She moaned as Anna’s hips pinned her against the counter, and looped her arms around Anna’s neck as the kiss deepened. It was the perfect distraction from exactly how rushed she felt, and she blinked her eyes open slowly once Anna finally pulled away. “Wow.”
Anna grinned and dr
opped a quick kiss to the tip of Bryn’s nose. “You’re pretty ‘wow’ yourself, Nakamura. But now that I’ve given you your kiss, as promised, I’ll go back in the other room and stop distracting you.”
“Probably a good idea.” Bryn licked her lips and pushed up onto her toes to steal one last kiss. “Okay. Go.” She pushed lightly on Anna’s shoulders. “Or we’re never getting out of here.”
“Would that really be so bad?” Anna teased, her right eyebrow cocked playfully as she began walking backward out of the room.
Bryn shook her head as she let herself enjoy the way the smooth fabric of Anna’s jumpsuit hugged her toned body. “Perhaps not. But, unfortunately, there are a handful of people camped out in the great room, and we have a work function of yours that we need to attend.”
“I can kick them out,” Anna offered.
“Later, Ms. Fitzpatrick,” Bryn promised.
“I’m holding you to that.”
“I’m counting on it,” Bryn assured her. “I’ll be out in a few.”
Anna blew her a kiss. “Take your time. We’ll wait.”
When Bryn turned back to the mirror, she was not at all surprised to see the happiness she was feeling shining in every aspect of her face. Her eyes seemed to glow with joy, and the smile curling her lips looked so awed and genuine that she somehow felt even happier just seeing it. A pleasant warmth settled in her chest as she unscrewed the cap to her eyeliner and let it fall to the counter with a clatter. She picked up her eyeliner brush, dipped it in the black gel, and rolled her eyes at herself as she leaned into the small magnifying mirror sitting on the counter.
“Focus, Nakamura,” she told herself sternly as she touched the tip of the brush to her lower lid.
Forty-Four
