by Cathy Pegau
Natalia pulled open the sash of the robe. Her hand glided along Gennie’s ribs and across her hip. She stroked Gennie’s buttocks, sending bursts of need through her.
Gennie pressed herself against Natalia’s hip, the rougher material of her trousers creating friction. She slid her hand under Natalia’s blouse and cupped her breast. Her nipple pebbled, tight and hot.
Natalia covered Gennie’s hand, encouraging her to rub harder, faster, then guided her down to the waistband of her trousers. Together, they worked the closure and pushed the garment down Natalia’s thighs. Gennie twirled the curls over Natalia’s mons.
Natalia’s hips twitched against Gennie. Gennie sucked in a sharp breath as fire sparked deep inside her and her own hips responded.
She felt Natalia’s smile as they kissed. Her hand slipped under the robe again, down between Gennie’s thighs. Gennie bent her leg, giving access to her most intimate self as she parted Natalia’s delicate skin.
Fingers stroked and teased. She dipped inside Natalia to wet her fingers and drew her hand up, slid it down with a little more pressure. Up again. Natalia mirrored her, matched her stroke for stroke, creating such a fierce need deep inside her that Gennie gasped into Natalia’s mouth.
They rocked against each other. Then Natalia eased her ministrations, slowed them to an almost frustrating crawl.
“I want you,” she whispered against Gennie’s lips. “I want to savor you.”
Natalia kissed her way down Gennie’s body, repositioning herself so she kneeled between Gennie’s knees. Gennie shifted to lie flat on the couch, half an ear toward the bedroom door, praying the kids remained asleep and the security system wouldn’t trip.
Warm lips nibbling the skin above her belly button made Gennie whimper. Her hips twitched. Natalia licked a path from Gennie’s navel downward. One hand caressed Gennie’s right hip, the other at her left breast, thumb circling her nipple.
Gennie covered Natalia’s hand over her breast. She stroked the silky hair on Natalia’s head and set her foot on the floor. “More. Please.”
Natalia kissed her inner thigh. Her lips and tongue nipped and flicked. Gennie pushed herself into Natalia’s mouth, felt her moan vibrate against bare flesh. Her tongue delved into Gennie. Gennie’s muscles tensed, close, so close to falling over the edge. But she wanted Natya eye to eye with her when she finally fell.
She half rose off the couch and placed a hand on either side of Natalia’s head. Gently lifting, and immediately missing the sensation of Natalia’s mouth hot against her, Gennie looked into her lover’s eyes. “Come back up here.”
Natalia grinned and kissed her way up Gennie’s body, lingering over each breast while her hands traced her hips and ribs. They moved to lie on their sides, facing each other. Natalia’s kisses tasted salty sweet. “I was enjoying myself down there.”
“Me too, but now I want you here.”
Gennie kissed her hard, stroking Natalia’s tongue with hers. She caressed Natalia’s breast, down to the curls between her legs. Slick fingers moved in and out, centering on the firm bit of flesh within the warm wetness.
Natalia gasped into Gennie’s mouth. Her hand pushed between Gennie’s legs, fingers sliding in and out, back and forth.
Their breathing increased together, synchronized. The heavy ache between her legs, deep in her gut, had Gennie bucking against Natalia’s strong hands. “God, yes, Natya.”
“Gennie, I—”
Natalia arched her back, shuddering as her inner muscles tightened and her orgasm pulsed around Gennie’s fingers. Gennie’s own release rolled through her, a wave of light and fullness that blanked out everything in the ’Verse except her and Natya.
This was what it was like to love someone. What made you think a happily ever after was possible. Even when it wasn’t.
* * *
Natalia returned to her senses slowly, enjoying the lightness that accompanied the afterglow. With Gennie’s forehead pressed against hers and idly stroking the woman’s hip, Natalia couldn’t think of anywhere she’d rather be. Though Gennie might have other ideas, other commitments to consider.
She arranged the bathrobe to cover Gennie best she could but kept her hand underneath, loathe to give up the opportunity to touch Gennie while she could.
“There’s enough room in the bed if you want to sleep with the kids,” she said.
Gennie kissed her. “I’d rather stay out here with you.”
They’d both be as uncomfortable as hell and probably not get much, if any, sleep. But Natalia was pleased all the same.
“Lights off,” she said, instructing the flat’s control system. They dimmed, only the light of Pandalus illuminating the room.
Neither spoke. What was there to say? After tomorrow the chances of them seeing each other again, let alone having anything more than whatever this was, were near zero. Not impossible, no, but damn close.
Natalia didn’t want to talk about the case against the Reyeses, or anything having to do with Grand Meridian and what was going on there. She’d get the Reyeses on something—anything—as long as it kept them away from Gennie and her children. She’d throw every CMA reg in the book at them if that’s what it took to distract them.
She realized her arm had tightened around Gennie’s shoulder. Forcing herself to relax, she kissed Gennie’s forehead.
Gennie looked up at her. Even the low light couldn’t hide her sad smile. “It’ll be all right, you know.”
Fear and concern lanced Natalia’s chest. “I’m supposed to be the one reassuring you, remember?”
Gennie shrugged. “It can be a mutual thing.” She searched Natalia’s face. “I don’t want you to worry about us.”
A sob-laugh caught in Natalia’s throat. “It’s too late for that.”
She didn’t just worry about them—she cared for them, all of them. More than she should have, more than weeks of knowing Gennie and an hour of knowing the children could justify. But it was there, a deep-in-her-heart need to keep them close and safe.
Doing both might be impossible.
Gennie stared at her, read Natalia’s care and concern in the twitch of her cheek and the tension in her body. Read Natalia just as Natalia read her.
Gennie touched her lips to Natalia’s and held still. Their breaths mingled. Natalia squeezed her eyes shut, squeezed back the thought of what the morning would bring.
“It’s too late for me too,” Gennie whispered against her mouth.
Wrapped around each other, they eventually fell into exhausted sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
“Hub Station, North Entrance,” the taxi driver announced.
Natalia held her comm near the payment box attached to the back of the driver’s seat. She okayed the fare and added a generous gratuity. The driver found a spot along the crowded walkway outside the entrance, pulling in as another taxi whipped back into traffic.
The locks disengaged. Natalia took Branson’s hand, while Gennie held Melaine’s. The girl wasn’t too sure about Natalia, despite her mother’s vouching for her. Branson, on the other hand, had chatted with Natalia all morning during breakfast as if they were old friends.
The Hub Station was just as busy at oh-nine hundred as it was any time of the day or night. The metallic scent-taste of the chilled morning air seemed warmer and thicker among all the bodies. Shuttles roared overhead as they gained altitude, disappearing into the gray sky for suborbital intraplanet flights or heading into the thermosphere if bound for other planets. Ground and
air cars rumbling past, people calling for taxis, wishing each other safe flights, all collided into a knot of controlled chaos. Noise and movement made it difficult to tell if they were being watched.
She searched for Mickelson on the crowded walk but saw no sign of him. No sign of anyone taking undue interest in Gennie and the twins either. Had they lost the Reyeses long enough to get the three of them off-planet safely?
“Let’s go closer to the building.” She ushered them away from the street.
The children stayed close to Gennie, holding on to her jacket so she could keep her hands free. Natalia couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful family. Gennie caught her eye and grinned back. She looked somewhat rested this morning, and damn fine wearing clothes she’d borrowed from Natalia. In a silent exchange, however, they realized this would be the last they saw of each other, and their smiles faltered.
“I wish...” Gennie didn’t finish the thought, but Natalia knew what she meant.
She caressed Gennie’s cheek with the backs of her fingers, her throat aching from unspoken emotion. “Me too.”
Natalia spotted Mickelson approaching, his loping stride distinguishing him from the crowd. She nodded when he acknowledged seeing her.
“Here he comes,” she said to Gennie but continued to scan the walk and street just the same.
Mickelson joined them, looking tired and rumpled. His long coat flapped open, revealing a shirt and trousers that had seen better days. He must have stayed up late working on the travel arrangements and IDs. Natalia owed him in a big way.
The tech handed her three plastic four-by-six-centi cards, standard Colonial issue. The IDs were real, even if the names on them weren’t. Natalia passed them to Gennie. “You’re now the Monroes.”
“Another name to remember.” Gennie smirked at the cards then pocketed them. She handed Mickelson her comm.
Mickelson held his own comm and Gennie’s in one hand while he tapped icons, transferring data and false information. He hadn’t said a word or met Gennie’s eyes since he’d arrived. The pale skin of his unshaven cheeks was deep pink.
Natalia hid a smile. He was either uncomfortable being out among actual people rather than in his electronic world or he was nervous about Gennie. Both her situation and her looks could account for that.
The tech gave Gennie her comm. He glanced at her then Natalia. “Good to go. Med files tweaked to the new names and boarding passes uploaded.”
“Thank you,” Gennie said. “I can’t tell you—” Her eyes darted to behind Natalia’s right shoulder and widened. “Natya!”
Natalia turned, catching the swing of an arm in the corner of her vision. Instinctively, her right arm came up in a defensive block before she was completely facing the assailant. Intense, burning pain sliced through her forearm. She brought her left fist around, slamming the man in the side of the head rather than his jaw. He was a good ten centis shorter than Natalia, but powerfully built. The blow had taken him by surprise, and he stumbled to his left. Passersby made room, but none seemed to realize what, exactly, was happening, even as they avoided the sudden commotion.
“Mickelson, get them out of here. Now!”
Natalia kicked the assailant in the face. He sprawled back, nose erupting blood, and hit the ground hard with the DEW knife still clutched in his hand. Damn, that explained the pain. The directed-energy weapon cut through any standard material and went deeper than the sharpest metal or ceramic blade available. Military-grade body armor usually stopped them; too bad she wasn’t wearing any. Bloodshed would be minimal due to cauterization, but not absent.
“Natalia, come on!” Gennie called.
She kicked the man in the ribs and ran to the taxi Mickelson had commandeered. He leaned in the front door, yelling something about being a Colonial agent to the driver. Gennie held the back door open, pulser in her other hand as she covered Natalia’s escape. Natalia dove onto the seat, scooted over to make room. Gennie got in and slammed the door. The twins huddled on the floor of the backseat, blue and brown eyes wide, their arms around each other.
“Go, go, go!” Mickelson screamed.
The driver accelerated away from the station, cutting off several vehicles, if the blaring horns and curses were any indication.
The rush of adrenaline from the attack subsided, and Natalia felt hot wetness on her arm just before searing pain stole her breath. She grabbed her forearm. Her coat sleeve was sliced open from below the elbow to her wrist. So was her arm. She bit back a curse.
“Let me see,” Gennie said.
She helped Natalia ease out of the coat and pulled back her shirt sleeve, careful to keep anything away from the raw edges of her wound. There wasn’t much blood, considering the length and depth of the incision, but it hurt like hell.
“You need to get this looked at,” Gennie said.
Natalia shook her head. “We need to get you all to a safe house first.”
The taxi screamed through the streets of Pandalus, passing slower vehicles and making seemingly random turns as Mickelson directed the driver.
“This is why I don’t do fieldwork,” the tech said to her through the plasti-glass partition between them. He slapped the driver’s arm and pointed down a side street. The car’s solid-mold tires screeched as they rounded the corner.
“Natya,” Gennie said, her palm warm on Natalia’s cheek. She expected the fear and anger in Gennie’s brown eyes, but there was also worry. “We have to get you to a medic.”
“They could be right behind us,” Natalia argued back. “You aren’t safe.”
“He wasn’t after me or the kids,” she said. “He was after you.”
* * *
Confusion accompanied the pain in Natalia’s face. She shook her head again, but Gennie knew she was right. She had looked right at the man as he came up behind Natya. He was focused on her. Not Gennie, not the twins. And the Reyeses wouldn’t have sent just one, not if they were trying to take the children. She’d learned that from the other night.
Natalia stopped denying the possibility that she’d been the target. Her eyes narrowed, anger seething in her controlled breaths. “That bastard.”
Gennie straightened, startled. “You know who’s after you?”
A sneer twitched her mouth. “I have a pretty good idea.” She knocked on the partition with her left hand, keeping the right arm cradled in her lap. “Mickelson, where the hell are we going?”
“To our favorite sack’s house,” he called back.
It was Gennie’s turn to be confused. “Sack house?”
Natalia settled back in the seat, leaning against Gennie. “S-A-C. Special Agent in Charge. A mutual friend.”
It took Gennie a moment to realize who she meant. “Great. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see me.”
“Mommy,” Branson said from the floor of the car, “is Natalia gonna die?”
“It’s only a little cut, Branson,” Natalia said, smiling despite the pain Gennie knew she was feeling. “I just need a bandage.”
“She’ll be fine, honey.”
The boy looked dubious. Melaine hugged him closer. As much as the twins bickered and made each other cry, when the going got tough, they stuck together. Pride and love surged in Gennie’s chest. She and Delilah had raised the children well, under the circumstances.
Natalia tilted her head so her mouth was close to Gennie’s ear. “I wanted you to get away from here, to be safe. I’m sorry.”
Gennie laid her hand on Natalia’s leg, careful to avoid her injured arm. Wounds were a funny thing, sometimes not hurting at all and other times radiating well beyond the actual injury. “It’s not your fault. Who’s after you?”
“My boss.” Natalia shifted, wincing as her right arm moved. “I’ll tell you more when we get to the house.”
Gennie had a million qu
estions, but Natalia closed her eyes, pain etched on her face. Questions could wait.
Mickelson had the taxi double back a few times. Gennie recognized several mega scrapers, including the Exeter Mining Company headquarters and its giant E. After ten more minutes, they seemed to be heading in a specific direction.
The taxi continued to the outskirts of Pandalus, where tall buildings, congested streets and narrow alleys gave way to wider roads and small homes. Some even boasted yards.
The car stopped in front of a single-story house set back from the road. Mickelson told the driver to forget he ever came out this way and slipped him two yellow twenty-credit chits, twice the fare registered on the box. The driver nodded and kept his attention forward until everyone was out of the taxi.
Gennie helped Natalia, while Mickelson kept a watchful eye on the street. The twins scurried out of the back. Gennie stayed close to Natalia as they led the way up the walk, the kids right behind them and Mickelson taking the rear. The front door opened.
Colonial Mining Authority agent Nathan Sterling, wearing a pair of canvas trousers, boots and a heavy sweater, crossed his arms. His short blond hair was damp, as if he’d just showered, and the long, thin scar that crossed his forehead was obscured by a frown. His bright blue eyes narrowed when they fell on Gennie. The frown lines deepened.
“This oughtta be good,” he growled.
* * *
Natalia had never been to Sterling’s home, even though they’d been partnered now and again for the last four years. A drink after work once in a while, but other than that they preferred keeping their private lives private.
Sterling stepped aside to allow her and Gennie in. His was a modest home, with a comfortable living area open to the kitchen and a hall that likely led to bedrooms and a lav. Art pieces and pillows added color to an otherwise neutral palette.
Sasha James stood near the dining table, a medkit laid out on its surface. Dressed in a similar fashion as Sterling, the petite, gray-eyed redhead smiled at Natalia then gave Gennie a startled stare.
