“That’s wonderful, Josie,” she answered, fighting back the tears. “I’m so happy for you.”
“W-would you like to say hello?”
Oh my goodness.
“Um … of course, yes, all right,” Maggie stammered, wondering if her brain was going to explode from the influx of new information.
“Go ahead, she wants to say hello,” Jo whispered as she covered the mouthpiece of the cell phone with her hand.
Cadie’s eyes widened and she backed away a little.
“You don’t think it’s a little soon, Jo-Jo?” she hesitated. “She didn’t know I existed until a minute ago.”
Jo grinned at her mischievously.
“Come on, you’ll be fine. She doesn’t bite.”
Cadie raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“And you know this, how?” she muttered, taking the phone from her lover and settling back against her chuckling form. “You are so going to make this up to me.” She took a deep breath and summoned up her best campaign manner. “Hello, Mrs. Madison, this is Cadie,” she said cheerily.
Maggie gasped.
“Oh you’re American. I wasn’t expecting that,” she said, wondering at the gentle, cultured accent of her daughter’s… goodness, what do I call her… friend? - so different from Jo’s rich, low tones. “Heavens, that wasn’t very polite of me, was it?”
Cadie laughed gently.
“That’s all right, I don’t think any of us were expecting this conversation to go quite the way it has,” she replied, already liking the older woman’s open approach.
“Well, that’s certainly true,” Maggie agreed readily. “It’s amazing, really. Jo’s father and I were just saying last night that we were going to call her on her birthday.” She paused. “You do know it’s her birthday on Wednesday?”
She heard another chuckle down the line.
“I sure do, though she keeps insisting it’s no big deal and we should just forget about it.”
Maggie snorted.
“Don’t you believe that for a minute. Why, when she was a girl …” Her voice trailed away as she remembered just how long ago that was, and just how little she knew her own daughter these days. “Well …” She cleared her throat. “Anyway. It’s good to know that Josie has found someone nice. You sound lovely.”
This time it was Cadie’s turn to be embarrassed.
“Uh, thank you. Please finish what you were going to say. I’d love to hear about Josie’s childhood.” She yelped and Maggie suspected the American had just been poked.
The older woman chuckled.
“She’s giving you a hard time, isn’t she?” she asked, charmed by the easy laughter she could hear from both women. “Is it because you want to hear baby stories, or because you called her Josie?”
“Both, I think,” Cadie giggled.
“Well, suffice to say, she very much anticipated her birthdays when she was little. I’m sure there’s a bit of that still inside her. Give her a hug for me on the day, won’t you?”
She could almost hear the grin.
“Oh, I will certainly do that,” Cadie answered. “It was so nice to finally say hello to someone I’ve heard so much about. I’m going to hand you back to Josie – yow! To Jo, now. Bye, Mrs. Madison.”
“Bye, dear,” Maggie said. She felt somewhat dazed and rubbed her hand over her face. She could hear rustling and subdued whispers on the other end of the line.
“Hi Mum,” said Jo a few seconds later.
“Hello, love,” her mother replied quietly. “It sounds like you’ve found yourself someone very special.”
“Oh yes,” Jo breathed. “Very.” There was another pause. “Look, Mum, we were kind of thinking of coming for a visit. Cadie wants to meet you, and I ..” Maggie waited, hearing the catch in her daughter’s voice. “I’d like to come home, Mum.”
Oh my. She’s not sure if she’s welcome, Maggie suddenly realized. As if there was any question of that.
“Yes Josie. You come home any time you want, love, and stay as long as you want. And bring whoever you want.” She was crying now, tears streaming unnoticed down her tanned and lined cheek. “You’re always welcome here, love. If we haven’t made that clear before, let me make it clear now. Come home. Please.”
Cadie watched as the emotion of the moment swamped Jo. They had been giggling and teasing their way through the conversation with her lover's mother so far, but suddenly things had become very serious.
In a good way I think, Cadie decided as Jo struggled to regain her composure. The dark-haired woman's throat was working hard but no sound was coming out. Jo rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand before Cadie took pity on her and took the phone back again.
"Hold on, sweetheart," she whispered as Jo buried her face against the blonde's neck. With one arm Cadie held her close as she juggled the phone in the other.
"Mrs. Madison? It's me again," she said calmly.
"Did Josie hear what I said?" Maggie replied anxiously.
"Yes ma'am, she sure did. I think it's just overwhelmed her a little bit right now." Cadie gently kissed the dark head.
"Oh dear, I hope I haven't scared her off."
The American laughed softly.
"No, I don't think so. Quite the reverse I suspect." Jo didn’t show any signs of emerging from the safe nest of Cadie's embrace and was taking deep, hitching breaths. "Um, we were thinking of coming to see you this weekend," Cadie continued. "Would that be okay?"
"More than okay," came the quick response. "Wonderful. Josie's father is going to be so pleased."
Finally, Jo got herself back together, wiping her eyes as she gestured for the phone. She had been totally disconcerted by her emotional reaction to her mother’s invitation, but it wasn’t fair to leave the details to Cadie. She took a deep breath as the blonde handed the phone back to her.
"Mum? If we can get ourselves to the air strip at Pemble, can someone pick us up?" she asked, aware that her voice sounded raw.
"Of course. Just let us know when, exactly, and one or other of us will be there." There was a pause as her mother registered the emotions she was hearing. “Are you all right?”
"Yeah, Mum, I’ll be right. Is Dad going to be okay with all this?" Jo closed her eyes when Cadie pressed a tender kiss against her temple.
"Don't you worry about your father, Jossandra," Maggie replied firmly. "I'll sort him out right enough. And to be honest, I think he's going to be really chuffed to see you."
"Okay Mum,” Jo said, deciding now was not the time to challenge that opinion. She knows him a lot better than I do, after all. “I'll give you a call when we have more idea about when we'll get there."
"Rightio, love. Talk to you then.” Jo heard her mother clear her throat. “It’s been so good to hear your voice, Josie. Thank you for calling.”
“I figured it was about time,” Jo answered quietly. “Look, Mum, I …”
“Shhhhhh, love, don’t worry about it now. We’re going to have plenty of time to talk, I’m sure. And I can’t wait to meet your girl.”
Jo caught herself grinning. My girl. Yeah.
“Okay, Mum. Bye for now."
Jo hung up the call and dropped her head back against the wall of the cabin in sheer relief.
"Wow," she murmured.
Cadie sat back on her heels, still straddling Jo’s thighs. She smiled.
“You weren’t expecting that, were you?”
One blue peeked out from under its lid.
“No, I wasn’t,” Jo replied. She lifted her head up and looked directly at Cadie. “Sorry I lost it there for a bit. It’s just a bit… um…”
“Sshhh, I know,” Cadie soothed. “I think I like your mother already. She’s got your voice.” She paused, remembering. “Only with about 20 more years’ hard work in it.”
Jo thought about that.
“She and Dad do the hardest work there is, I reckon,” she said quietly. “Trying to make a living on the land has never been easy, but this drought makes it a mi
llion times harder.” She frowned and Cadie knew there were all kinds of plans and schemes swirling in the dark head.
She gets the cutest little furrow on her brow when she’s trying to work out how to get something done, the blonde recognized.
“You want to help them out, don’t you?” she asked, smiling as Jo raised an eyebrow at her.
“Yeah, I do. We can afford to, I think. Is that okay with you?” Jo reached out and slid her hands around Cadie’s hips, pulling the shorter woman down till she was resting on her chest again.
Cadie felt a warm glow spreading through her.
She said ‘we’, she thought giddily. I don’t care about the money – there could be a buck-50 in that account and I could care less. But in 12 years with Naomi, she never once even considered asking me what I thought about decisions like this. Cadie wrapped her arms around her lover’s waist and squeezed possessively.
“I’m more than okay with that,” she replied happily. “Thank you for asking.”
Cadie felt the kiss against the top of her head.
“Did you think I wouldn’t ask?” Jo rumbled, soft and low.
Cadie lifted her head and kissed the full, coral lips so close.
“I’m just not used to being included in those sorts of decisions, sweetheart,” she replied huskily when they broke apart. “I wanted to make sure you know I appreciate it.”
“Cadie.” Jo tilted the blonde’s head up with a gentle fingertip under her chin. “I’m not Naomi.”
“Thank god,” Cadie murmured, provoking a broad grin from her lover.
“Agreed. My point was just that you and I are nothing like you and her. I don’t ever want us to get to that place where you and Naomi were. Not talking, not sharing, not trying anymore. If I ever look like neglecting you – neglecting us – the way she did, I want you to hit me with something large and blunt.”
Cadie considered that.
“Hmmmmm, like a small tree?”
“Exactly like a small tree.”
Cadie looked at her solemnly.
"I can do that."
“Good.”
Cadie nuzzled Jo’s neck, loving the feel of the taller woman’s pulse against her lips. She nibbled a teasing line up to her jaw then trailed the tip of her tongue across the soft skin to Jo’s ear.
“God, I love the feel of you,” Jo whispered hoarsely. Their faces were barely touching, cheeks brushing together in the finest of contacts. She could feel the rising heat between them, and her hands moved restlessly across the soft skin of Cadie’s back. The blonde licked at her earlobe with the delicate tip of her tongue, drawing the sensitive flesh into her mouth. Jo groaned as Cadie bit down gently. “You’re making me ache, Arcadia.”
“Mmmmmm,” Cadie growled. “I like the sound of that.”
“I like the sound of you.” Jo knew they were in danger of spending yet another morning lazing around in bed, indulging themselves in each other’s bodies. And loving it, she thought, happily letting the sensations wash through her. It never failed to amaze her when her body reacted so powerfully to Cadie’s touch and closeness. “I don’t ever want to stop touching you,” she murmured. “Or stop being touched by you.”
Cadie responded by moving even closer. They were belly to belly, breast to breast, soul to soul.
“Josie, huh?” the blonde teased, her mouth against Jo’s ear. “Does that make me your pussycat?”
Jo smiled, burying her face in the soft, fair hair.
“You’re certainly purring loudly enough,” she answered. She felt rather than heard Cadie’s laughter. Jo took the chance and found a way to slide her right hand between them. Her fingertips found the soft, wet spot they were searching for and Cadie gasped, shuddering against her.
“Ohhh god, Jo,” the blonde groaned. “If I wasn’t purring before, I certainly … a-am … n-now.” Any ability Cadie had to form coherent sentences drifted away on a current of pure sensuality as Jo’s fingers teased and circled, flicked and stroked. She pressed down with her hips, undulating against Jo’s hand and wrist. The passion had risen fast, the speed and strength of it leaving her speechless.
Jo avidly watched the look of utter skin-hunger on her lover’s flushed face. Cadie was almost in her own world, moving as her body demanded, using Jo.
In the best possible meaning of the word, Jo thought. She felt liquidly lustful herself, desire sitting low in her belly. The combination of Cadie’s heat and wetness, the pressure of her own hand wedged between them both, and her lover’s movements and sounds was delicious. Not enough to push her over the edge but … she was surprised to hear a groan that wasn’t Cadie’s, recognizing her own voice, ragged with craving.
She wrapped her free arm around Cadie’s hips, pulling the blonde closer as she arched up, counter-pointing the smaller woman’s movements.
“J-Jo,” Cadie crooned.
“Tell me what you want, darling,” Jo urged.
Cadie responded by pressing herself upright, back arched, hands splayed across Jo’s chest.
“Y... you know w... what I want,” she groaned.
Jo smiled.
“Mmmmmm, yes I do,” she murmured. She waited, watching Cadie’s rhythms, feeling her desire’s ebb and flow. And then, just as anticipation hovered on the brink of frustration, she gave Cadie what she needed, pressing deep, filling and stroking.
Cadie threw her head back, Jo’s name spilling from her lips, over and over. Movements once smooth and purposeful were suddenly mindless and reactive. Jo thrust and coaxed, nuzzled and soothed, continuing to touch and tease Cadie’s trigger points.
So beautiful, so sexy, Jo thought as the younger woman slumped forward, fair hair spilling across Jo’s breasts as the energy drained out of her.
“Oh. My. God.”
Jo chuckled. She left her right hand where it was, relishing the aftershocks and quivers that surrounded her fingers. She brought her left hand to Cadie’s head, tenderly pushing perspiration-dampened locks away from her face.
“You okay, angel?” Jo whispered.
“Oh. My. God.” Cadie felt like butter. Soft, pliable, melted butter. She couldn’t have moved if her life depended on it. “I wonder if anyone will notice if we spend the rest of our lives in this position,” she muttered, kissing the damp skin above Jo’s heart.
“You’re going to make a hell of a lump under my shirt,” Jo mused. “Sailing’s going to be interesting. I’ll have to remember which hand to grind with, and which hand to … um …” She wiggled the fingers of her right hand playfully, grinning when Cadie twitched spasmodically. “Wouldn’t want to get them the wrong way round.”
Cadie laughed weakly, her fingers scratching lightly across Jo’s sides.
“You are the most awesome lover, Jossandra,” Cadie murmured. I feel like I’ve been turned inside out.
“You are the most awesome inspiration,” Jo replied, kissing the top of the fair head.
Cadie mustered the strength to lift her head and she gazed up into hooded, blue eyes.
“Are you okay?” she asked, reading barely held back arousal in her lover’s expression.
Jo exhaled slowly.
“I’m about seven steps beyond okay and one step short of nuclear fission,” she explained, just failing to stop the broad, sensual grin. “I think if you touched me right now, I’d probably explode.”
“Oooo, I think I’m intrigued,” Cadie drawled. “I guess this means I have to let you go, huh?” She squeezed Jo’s fingers.
“Mmmmmm.” The movement sent tingles through Jo she couldn’t even begin to describe. “Keep doing that, woman, and neither of us will have to move a muscle,” she growled.
“Well, maybe one or two, sweetheart.”
Jo groaned.
Jo walked the length of Seawolf’s huge boom, pulling the sail cover tight around the furled mainsail and clipping it shut buckle by buckle. They were anchored at one of Cheswick Marine’s buoys in Shute Harbor, having just arrived from Hayman Island about 20 minut
es earlier. Cadie was below decks cleaning out the main cabin and galley while Jo made sure everything was shipshape up here. Seawolf was due out again the next morning with a boatload of tourists and it wouldn’t do to have the big boat looking less than pristine.
It was mid-afternoon. Jo had meant to be back here a little earlier than this but somehow the morning had just drifted away on a tide of love-making and pillow talk. She grinned to herself. Can’t think of a better reason to be late.
Jo looked around at the arresting scenery of the deep-water harbor and sighed contentedly. Shute was surrounded by high, lush green hills that came right down to the water, which was a dark, rich blue. Yachts and motor cruisers were dotted across the expanse of the port, leaving only the main channel out to the islands free of anchorages. Summer was coming to a close and the place was just starting to wind up for the main thrust of the tourist season, when the numbers of boats in the harbor would close to double.
It had been a good off-season for Cheswick Marine. Both boats, the Seawolf and the Beowulf, had operated almost constantly with just a few quiet weeks across the summer. And they’d come at convenient moments, Jo thought. The company was in relatively good shape, for which she silently thanked Ron Cheswick. But in another month or so things would start to get interesting. If we’re going to get away for a break, now’s the time. She neatly coiled a rope around itself as she contemplated the next couple of months. It’s going to get busy here just at the time when Cadie has to go back to the States, she realized with a frown. Damn it.
She was shaken out of her reverie by sounds of movement from below. She glanced aft in time to see Cadie emerge up the companionway with a large plastic bag in tow.
“How did we manage to collect so much garbage in three days?” the American griped as she tugged at the bag. Jo wandered back to give her a hand, dropping casually down into the cockpit.
“Beats me sweetheart,” she said with a shrug. “I didn’t think we’d done anything except swim, eat and f-.” She was silenced by Cadie’s hand across her mouth and a pair of sparkling green eyes that widened in mock outrage. Jo grinned against the warm skin pressed to her lips. But the hand soon withdrew when she flicked her tongue out and licked it.
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