by Julie Cannon
“Dana.”
Emery’s voice was seductive. It was the same voice that made her heart race, her legs grow weak, and it had woken her countless times in the middle of the night. It was the sound of desire, the echo of longing, the craving of a touch, the simple want of another.
In the past few days, she had seen a completely different aspect of Emery, one she never imagined even existed. She commanded a room, was tough, confident, decisive, and always focused. She was the unequivocal chief executive officer of a major corporation. She had the respect of her subordinates and the envy of her peers. She was everything Dana had expected when she agreed to take this job. But the woman standing in front of her now was not that woman.
This woman was EJ, and she ached to be with her again, laugh with her, explore the world with her, and disappear in her arms again. She knew Emery still wanted her, could see it in her eyes and sense it when they were close, even if no one else had a clue. To everyone who knew Emery she was the same composed, driven woman as she was before she went on the cruise. Emery had said it herself. She had a company to think about—hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in contracts, thousands of lives depending on her for their job, their livelihood, their future. Martin Engineering could not be involved in another scandal.
Dana hesitated, their eyes locked. She wanted just one touch. She wanted to feel Emery’s warm breath on her neck, smell her scent, taste her mouth. She needed just one more. One kiss, one caress, one…Emery’s eyes released hers and turned her attention to her lips. Dana swayed toward Emery, toward excitement, toward fulfillment, toward release.
“No!” the voice inside her head shouted. “No, no!” echoed her conscience. “No, no, no” beat against her chest, commanding her body to stop.
“Good night, Emery. See you in the morning.”
Chapter Ten
Emery didn’t know if she was disappointed or relieved when Dana stepped into her room and closed the door behind her. She wanted Dana, and with one affirmative gesture the night would look very different from the one she was facing now.
“Good night, Dana,” she said to the varnished wood before stepping to her left and entering her own room. She quickly glanced at the connecting door and saw two brushed-nickel deadbolts on the door. The occupants of both rooms had to unlock their deadbolt in order for the connecting door to open. Even from where she stood she could see that the lock that Dana controlled was still firmly in place.
Memories of Dana floated in and out of her brain while she got ready for bed. The shower triggered a memory of another time in the cascading water, and by the time she got out she knew she wouldn’t be able to go to sleep anytime soon. She tried to read some reports on Stephenson but couldn’t concentrate. She flipped through the channels and found a soccer game between Guatemala and Germany. She kept glancing toward the door, wondering what Dana was doing on the other side.
She glanced at her travel clock and saw that it was only twenty minutes since the last time she’d looked at it. At that time it had read two fifteen. Neither the hot shower nor the sleeping pill she’d taken two hours ago was working. She knew she wouldn’t sleep and wondered why she was even trying.
Dana was a few feet away sleeping in that room’s king-size bed. Dana had always slept nude but Emery wondered if she did when in a strange hotel. Like Dana, she too slept nude but preferred a pair of large boxer shorts and a white T-shirt when traveling. She had heard too many stories from other travelers of fire alarms, earthquakes, and even a tornado causing guests to run from their rooms in a panic, dressed in only what God gave them.
The image of Dana lying naked in the middle of the bed was causing her sleeplessness. Even though she couldn’t actually see her, Emery knew exactly what she looked like.
The faintest light from the reflection of the moon passed silently through the sliding-glass doors of EJ’s suite, illuminating Dee’s naked body. It was five a.m. and EJ had been watching her sleep for the last half hour. She was lying on her side facing the veranda, her back to EJ. EJ was sitting up against the headboard, one leg bent at the knee, a glass of water in her hand. Dee was beautiful. Her body was curved in all the right places, firm and tight in some and bore the sign of her age in others. Dee didn’t try to hide the fact that she was thirty-eight, and that made her sexier than hell. EJ liked a woman who was confident in and out of bed, and Dee definitely met that criterion. She wasn’t shy, took control of her own pleasure, and had demanded the same from her.
After only an hour of sleep EJ had wakened, hungry for Dee’s touch, her kiss, her demanding caress. Her need surprised her. She would have thought their nonstop lovemaking since entering her cabin shortly after eleven last night would have quenched her desire. By the way her groin throbbed and her fingers itched to touch Dee again, she definitely wanted more.
Giving in to her need she leaned over and kissed the nape of Dee’s neck. Dee didn’t stir. She kissed the curve of her shoulder, the spot just below her ribs. Again Dee didn’t move. She must be exhausted, EJ thought, lightly tracing the path her lips had just traversed. Slowly she explored the curve of her hip, the indentation of the back of her knee, the dimple just above the left cheek of her butt.
EJ shifted on the large bed and moved lower, gently turning Dee onto her back. She glanced up, expecting to see Dee awake, and when she didn’t she continued her exploration. Laying soft caresses and barely there kisses on Dee’s long legs was like discovering a new landscape. She had covered this ground earlier, but that was in the heat of passion when EJ simply had to touch every inch of her.
This was different. This was slow and deliberate, desire rising like a swift current waiting to gently spill over its banks. She noticed the freckles on Dee’s knees, the faint birthmark on her thigh, and the thin red scar that ran almost the length of the inside of her right calf. She kissed it and Dee’s legs fell apart, exposing her beauty. She wanted time to stand still.
Dee was absolutely beautiful. Full lips exposed the hard nub of Dee’s clit and EJ fought the overwhelming need to taste it. Memories of the feel and taste of Dee overpowered her. Unable to control herself she leaned forward and lightly kissed her. Dee moaned softly but still didn’t wake. She explored Dee with long, slow strokes of her tongue. Dee’s clit swelled with each pass and EJ’s grew hard in unison.
Dee’s hips lifted, she moaned again, and EJ felt rather than saw that she was awake. She continued to stroke and slid one finger deep into her warm wetness. Dee gasped and arched her hips even higher.
“Yes,” Dee whispered in the fading dark of the night. She reached down and grasped EJ’s free hand, their fingers entangling.
Encouraged by Dee’s response, she quickened her pace. Dee met her stroke for stroke, beads of her desire filling EJ’s mouth.
“More,” Dee said urgently.
EJ quickly slid a second finger into her.
This time Dee’s response was anything but quiet. “Oh, God, yes.” It was part moan, part cry of ecstasy, and EJ fought her own body’s need to climax. She focused on Dee, the quick rise and fall of her chest, her arms and legs writhing on the sheets, the vise-like grip of her hand. Faster and faster Dee moved and she struggled to keep up.
Dee’s release was an explosion of sensation, affecting every one of EJ’s senses. Her name slid from Dee’s mouth, the scent and taste of her arousal was sweet, the warmth of her juices filled EJ’s palm, and the sight of Dee lying spent on the tangled sheets, chest heaving after her orgasm, drove her to her own release.
“Jesus Christ, Emery,” she said out loud, scrambling off the suddenly very empty bed. Her pulse was racing, her hands shook, and her breathing was anything but normal. She paced around the tastefully decorated yet sterile room knowing it was going to be a very long night.
*
Dana rolled over and looked at the clock. She’d been in bed for an hour but wasn’t the slightest bit sleepy. Kicking off the covers she grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and settled on the
couch on the far side of the room. Maybe a change of scenery would do the trick. She closed her eyes and let the cool liquid slide down her throat.
Several hours later Dee had asked, “Are we ever going to get out of this room?” She was sitting on the couch curled up against EJ’s side. EJ’s arm was a comfortable weight around her.
“Do you have some place you need to be?”
“We’re on a twenty-one-day cruise, stopping at twelve beautiful ports of call in the southern Caribbean. I didn’t plan to spend a lot of time inside.” And she certainly hadn’t planned to meet EJ Connor.
“Let me rephrase my question,” EJ said, running her hand through Dee’s hair. “Do you have some place you need to be that’s better than right here?”
“That’s a loaded question.”
“Then fire away with your answer.”
She poked EJ’s bare stomach.
“Hey!” EJ exclaimed as she squirmed a little.
She sat up and looked at EJ. They were naked, sitting on a large beach towel EJ had found in the closet. It was after eleven in the morning, and by her count they had made love eight times. But then again, in some instances she wasn’t sure when one time ended and another began. EJ’s hair was mussed and she remembered the countless times she’d grabbed it to pull EJ closer.
She shook her head and settled back into her spot. They had been sitting this way since brushing their teeth and finishing the pot of coffee that room service had delivered.
“Are you going to feed me today?”
“We just ate,” EJ said.
“I don’t call raiding the refrigerator and sharing a grapefruit and a container of yogurt eating.”
“I suppose you want me to sit up, unwrap my arms from around a beautiful, sexy woman, drag myself across the cabin, take a shower—alone, mind you—get dressed, and escort you somewhere for lunch?”
EJ hadn’t moved but made her statement in the same position she’d been in for the past half hour. The vibrations for her voice rumbled in her chest and against Dee’s cheek. The amusement in EJ’s voice rekindled the flame smoldering inside her. It didn’t take much from EJ to fan it into a roaring flame. It was as simple as a touch, a word, a look, or even just a memory.
Dee wasn’t a stranger to sex and had always found something exciting about being with someone new. It didn’t take much to rekindle new desire, but this was the first time she absolutely could not get enough of someone, and that someone was chuckling in her ear.
“Who said anything about showering alone?” She felt the immediate hitch in EJ’s breathing and the increase in her heartbeat.
“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”
EJ stood up, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into her arms. Her kiss was passionate, and their warm bodies pressed against each other fueled Dee’s desire. Dee deepened the kiss and sucked on EJ’s tongue, pulling it into her mouth. She bit lightly, then began sucking and nipping EJ’s neck. Her hands were equally busy running over the soft contours of EJ’s hard body. She grabbed EJ’s ass and straddled her thigh, pulling them closer. EJ’s hands were on their own quest for pleasure and tweaked her nipple just hard enough for her to moan.
Dee wasn’t sure if she was moving or floating, but when EJ pressed her back against the wall she didn’t care. EJ’s hands were everywhere, and Dee raised herself up to ride her lover’s solid thigh. She struggled for breath. “I thought we were taking a shower.”
“Later,” EJ mumbled against her mouth breathlessly. “I need you right now. The shower will come right after you do.”
She gasped when EJ slid her fingers between them. Now, instead of riding EJ’s leg she was on her fingers. And what magical fingers she had. She dropped her head onto EJ’s shoulder in complete surrender and caught their reflection in the mirror at the end of the hall. They were intertwined as only two women could be. EJ’s tall body had her pinned against the wall. Her arms were wrapped around EJ’s neck, her leg pinning EJ’s for support and stimulation. Lines and curves intersected, limbs overlapped, and they thrust against each other. The sight was raw, primitive, and sensuous. One second later Dee exploded, her orgasm ripping from her throat, the sound smothered in EJ’s.
“Holy shit, what was that?” she asked between gasps of air, trying to refill her depleted lungs. Her head rested in the crook of EJ’s neck and thankfully EJ was still supporting her.
“Awesome,” EJ answered, her own chest heaving for air after her own climax.
Dee trembled from an aftershock of her powerful orgasm. “Hold me.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“I’ve got you,” EJ said, tightening her arm around Dee’s waist. Her hand was still between them and she inhaled sharply when EJ’s fingers started to move again.
“You are so fucking sexy.”
Dee felt the surge of yet another orgasm approach, and she lifted her head to again see their bodies coupled in the mirror. This time, she didn’t try to suppress her scream.
Chapter Eleven
Dana ordered another refill of coffee from the waitress that hovered closer to her table than necessary. The waitress had held her gaze just a little too long after she placed her order, and even through her grogginess, she detected interest. She hadn’t slept much the night before. Knowing Emery was on the other side of the door was not what she needed to facilitate a good night’s sleep.
Her eyes felt like sandpaper, and it had taken several attempts before she could get her contacts in. The cold shower helped a little, and she hoped that her breakfast of bacon, eggs, and oatmeal would give her the energy she desperately needed.
“How is a pretty little thing like you gonna eat all that?”
Dana groaned inwardly, recognizing the voice of James Bethel. He was the last thing she needed this morning—or any other time of the day. She put on her best meeting smile and looked up.
“Good morning, Jim.” She didn’t answer his question or say anything to give him any reason to join her. He didn’t get the hint.
“Mind if I join you?” He didn’t wait for her to reply as he pulled out the chair across from her and sat down. His leg immediately made contact with hers and she knew it was not accidental.
Her appetite slipped away like the steam rising from her coffee cup. She would have welcomed any attendee of the conference to sit at her table except Jim Bethel. If her tired body didn’t need the fuel and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of affirming his stupid comment, she’d make up some excuse and leave. As it was she simply said nothing.
“Coffee, and I’ll have what my beautiful breakfast companion is having,” Bethel said as he waved his arm at the waitress. Since Bethel was not looking at her, the waitress frowned at Dana.
“Jim,” Dana said, trying to sound casual. “I appreciate that you’re making me feel welcome here at the conference, and I certainly don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I would prefer you stop with the inappropriate comments, looks, and touches.” If she didn’t call him on his behavior right now, it would be harder if not impossible to stop later. Unfortunately she had been down this road too many times, and it still pissed her off when it happened. She wouldn’t dream of saying something like that to a man or even another lesbian in a business setting.
“What are you talkin’ about, doll? I don’t mean no harm. I just call ’em as I see ’em.” Bethel had slipped into what he probably thought was his good-old-boy accent. “You have to admit that you like it when a man acknowledges how pretty you are.”
She put her fork down and looked at the nametag of the waitress filling Bethel’s cup. “Pam, would you please stay for a minute?” When the waitress nodded, Dana said, “I’m Dana Worthington and this is James Bethel.” Then she looked Bethel squarely in the eye. “I’m going to tell you this one more time, Mr. Bethel. I do not appreciate or want to hear any more references to my body, what I eat, how much I eat, what I’m wearing, or anything remotely personal about me. I do not appreciate or want to see your eyes anyw
here on my body except my eyes or looking at me in any way other than professionally. Do not touch me again, and take your leg away from mine right now. I find your remarks, leers, and innuendos unprofessional, in poor taste, and extremely offensive. Do I make myself clear?”
She maintained eye contact with Bethel. If she wavered at all he would take it as a sign of weakness and her statement would lose its impact. She watched his eyes spark in anger, then just as quickly tame. She calmly waited for his reaction.
“I didn’t mean any harm, Dana,” he said. His apology was lukewarm and lacked sincerity. “I’m sorry if you took it wrong.”
“I didn’t take anything wrong, Mr. Bethel. Now I don’t want this to impede our professional relationship or the working relationship of Bethel and Martin Engineering, but I will not tolerate any other inappropriate looks, words, or touches. Do I make myself clear?” She repeated herself for emphasis.
He put his napkin on the table and stood. The waitress had to step back or risk being knocked over by his bulk. “I seem to have lost my appetite,” he said just before he walked away.
Dana breathed a sigh of relief but knew it would be short lived. Bethel had neither apologized for his actions nor acknowledged her cease-and-desist demand. This would not be the last she heard from Jim Bethel.
“Wow, you cut him off at the knees,” the waitress said admiringly.
“Men like him probably think it’s his balls,” she said sarcastically.
Pam snickered, and when Dana asked for her phone number she gave her a I’m-definitely-interested-in-you smile. Dana quickly set her straight. “In case I need you to verify this conversation.” Pam walked away obviously disappointed.
“What was all that about?” Emery asked from behind her. She at least was polite enough not to sit down unless invited.
