Kiernan took her by the arm and led her up the carpet. The guards pushed back some individuals attempting to cross the barrier.
“Ariel O’Shay, look this way please.”
“Ariel O’Shay, how long did you know Kiernan O’Shay before you married her?”
“Ms. O’Shay, is it true this marriage is a business arrangement?”
“Kiernan O’Shay, do you have any comments on your wife’s involvement in a notorious motorcycle gang?”
Kiernan muttered under her breath to Ariel, “They have got to be kidding.”
Ariel didn’t know whether to be appalled or amused. She decided she would go with the latter and said out of the side of her mouth to Kiernan, “I should have worn my black jacket and black biker pants.”
Kiernan laughed throatily. The sound caused pleasant goose bumps to tickle the back of Ariel’s neck.
Finally, they came to the end of the gauntlet, and two door attendants in black tailcoats opened the double doors of one of the South’s most prestigious country clubs. They strolled into a grand lobby with marble flooring where a dozen people conversed. Conversation lulled as heads turned to see who entered. Within a matter of seconds, Ariel realized all eyes were focusing in their direction. She heard a few low whispers, then suddenly a voice close by said, “Well, well, if it’s not my favorite cuz, fashionably late, as usual.”
A gorgeous woman in a strapless sapphire dress with a pageboy cut of silver hair came up to Kiernan and hugged her.
Kiernan said, “As usual, I’m here. And you’re as gorgeous as ever, cuz.” She turned to Ariel. “I would like you to meet my cousin, Beverly. She’s throwing this shindig tonight. Beverly, this is my wife, Ariel.”
Ariel took Beverly’s hand. “Hello. Kiernan has told me about you and the wonderful work your foundation is doing.”
“Why, thank you. It’s people like Kiernan who keep it afloat.” She hugged her and said, “Welcome to the family, cuz.” Ariel flushed when Beverly planted a brief peck on her lips.
Kiernan narrowed her eyes and said with a playful warning, “Hey, watch it there. That’s a little too familiar.”
“Kissing Cousin, Kiernan,” Beverly said, and then added, “you better keep her close by. It’s the full moon tonight, and there are some foxes—and a few skunks—here who will try and raid your henhouse.”
Kiernan put a proprietary arm around Ariel’s waist, wryly saying, “I can arrange for them to take a one way trip to that full moon if they try that.”
Beverly and Ariel both laughed.
Beverly said, “Come on, I want Ariel to meet Helen.”
Kiernan took Ariel’s hand and followed Beverly. Many of Kiernan’s friends and acquaintances stopped them on the way, and she made quick introductions, but didn’t linger long enough to engage in conversation. Some of the names and faces Ariel recognized from the media. The people she met were very cordial, but several scrutinizing stares made her uncomfortable.
They sauntered through the lobby and into a cavernous ballroom with a high ceiling from which hung crystal chandeliers. Over a dozen round tables with snowy white tablecloths and place settings for eight were scattered about the room. Cards by each place setting designated who sat where. The front floor of the ballroom was clear for dancing, and the members of an orchestra were setting up their equipment on the stage.
A couple dozen guests socialized in groups of four or five on both sides of the ballroom. A few people were already seated.
Many of the guests directed their attention to the trio as Beverly led them to the corner of the room where the bar was located. The people procuring drinks from the bartender stared. A few friends and acquaintances of Kiernan’s stopped her, and she introduced Ariel.
A voice behind them said with humor, “Why, I do declare, it’s the one and only Kiernan O’Shay. I see you decided to come down from that mountain fortress of yours and grace us with your presence, Your Majesty.” A petite, vivacious woman with caramel skin and raven hair done into a twist came up to Kiernan and hugged her.
Kiernan hugged back, and they separated. Kiernan appraised the black silk tuxedo with a red cummerbund. “Helen, I must say, you’re very debonair tonight. I think I’ll get me a tux.”
“Debonair? I like that description. You’re as lovely as ever, and that dress is so you.” She appraised Kiernan with approval, before turning her attention to Ariel, her soulful ebony eyes seeming to drink her in. With a dazzling smile, she said, “Hello, I’m Helen. You must be Ariel.”
Ariel shook the offered hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Ortiz.”
“Please, it’s Helen.” She didn’t let go of Ariel’s hand and stoked her megawatt smile up a few kilowatts. “Your pictures don’t do you justice. You’re stunning.” She gallantly kissed the back of Ariel’s hand. Ariel blushed hotly.
Kiernan narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. “All right, Don Juanita, you want me to challenge you to a duel?” She removed Ariel’s hand from Helen’s and held it.
Beverly shot a slightly reproving look at her wife. “Helen, sugar, behave.”
“I am behaving.” Helen grinned wickedly. “Why, you can call me— Ms. Behaving.”
Kiernan said, “Ha! That line is older than my Uncle Theodore. Speaking of whom, has he arrived yet?”
“Not yet,” Beverly said. “He and Jack will be seated at my table along with you two and Joshua and Casey Chou.” Beverly’s expression changed to stony. She whispered out of the corner of her mouth, “Heads up, here comes trouble.”
A skinny, blonde-haired woman approached the group. She was dressed in a strapless black dress that did nothing for her gaunt figure but emphasize her prominent collarbones and bony shoulders. She stopped in front of the couple, glanced dismissively at Kiernan, and focused her attention on Ariel with a haughty squint down her aquiline nose and sarcastically said, “I hear congratulations are in order.”
Kiernan displayed a feral grin. “Thank you, Millicent. I want you to meet my wife, Ariel. Ariel, Millicent Tyler.”
Ariel disengaged her hand from Kiernan’s and extended it for a shake. Millicent ignored it and said disdainfully, “I believe I heard you were a school teacher before marrying Kiernan.”
“I’m a—I was a physics professor at Missionary Ridge Junior College.”
“And you met Kiernan through your mother, who was employed by her?”
“That is correct.”
“How fortunate for your family to now be associated with the O’Shay name—and social station. How long did you know Kiernan before you married her?”
Ariel knew what Millicent was implying. She took Kiernan’s hand and surreptitiously squeezed it. Kiernan drew in a breath as if she were going to reply.
Ariel said facetiously, “Long enough.”
“Oh? Funny how I never heard your name mentioned when Kiernan and I were…together…a mere few months before you married her. In fact, no one, that is no one I know, has ever heard of you.”
“And why should they? Given the media’s interest in anything Kiernan does, we thought it best to keep our relationship private, and between us.” She glanced to Kiernan. “Kiernan was clever enough to throw the media off track by—” she paused and grinned at Millicent “keeping up—pretenses. Very clever of her—don’t you agree?”
Helen snickered, and Kiernan’s grip tightened briefly in approval and support.
Millicent’s face glowed red and she twisted her mouth. “Why—”
“Oops,” Beverly said, “it’s getting to be that time. I better get this event rolling.” Beverly hastily jerked Kiernan’s hand and she and Ariel chugged along behind Beverly like two little train cars.
The sound of Millicent’s retort followed Ariel. “Why you little upstart—”
Ariel heard Helen say, “Hey, Millie, let me show you to your table.”
Ariel glanced back to see Helen grab Millicent’s elbow and try to steer her away. Millicent flung her arm out of Helen’s gr
asp. “My name isn’t Millie,” she shouted before stalking off.
At their table Kiernan said, “Sorry about that. Good lord. Seems my past has come back to haunt me.”
“Let’s be glad it wasn’t my past, or we’d be heading to the emergency room to fix your broken nose.”
Ariel saw Kiernan’s eyes widen and mouth drop open, but she recovered her composure at once. “I’ll depend on you to protect me.”
“Protect you? Something tells me you can take care of yourself. But just in case, I’ll be there holding a towel with ice in it for your nose.”
“You handled that very well.”
“I can take care of myself.” A part of Ariel enjoyed besting that snotty socialite. She wasn’t going to let anyone put her or her family down because they perceived them as being lesser in that they weren’t born wealthy and were from a different social strata. Another part hoped this wasn’t the type of behavior she could expect in the future from very many of Kiernan’s friends and associates.
“I can see that.” Kiernan was surprised at Ariel’s quick and clever retort. Every day she realized there was so much more to learn about her wife than she’d initially imagined. Now she knew that Ariel would amaze her and confound her, please her and aggravate her, make her laugh and make her cry. She was looking forward to it.
DINNER WAS A pleasant affair. Ariel discovered the Chous were both motorcycle enthusiasts. They owned a Honda Goldwing they used in touring various parts of the globe for four months each year. They’d recently returned from a motorcycle trip through the Balkans.
Ariel regaled the Chous with her most recent day tour with the
H.O.G chapter to the Smoky Mountain National Park. She took delight in relating information about her trips down the infamous Tail of the Dragon, more than three hundred treacherous, twisting, and turning curves covering eleven miles of mountain road. Joshua had taken the ride down the Tail sans his wife, and he and Ariel discussed the thrills of maneuvering the tail and some of the spills they’d witnessed.
Kiernan wasn’t at all thrilled to hear their accounts. She was glad Ariel planned to give up riding during her pregnancy and wished she would give it up permanently.
The caterers went table to table to remove the last of the dessert dishes, and the orchestra, which had played sedate classics throughout dinner, changed to up-tempo pieces meant for dancing, starting with a contemporary waltz. Helen pulled Beverly up from her chair and turned to Ariel and Kiernan. “Why don’t you two hit the dance floor with us?”
“Shall we?” Kiernan held out her hand to Ariel, and they followed the other couple out onto the dance floor. She placed her arm around Ariel’s waist only to have Ariel shrug away and reposition herself. Kiernan said, “I see you’re accustomed to leading.”
Ariel smirked. “I see you are, too.”
“How about we take turns. I’ll lead this dance—you lead the next.”
“Okay, I’m versatile.”
“We’ll see.” Kiernan guided Ariel in the box step. Ariel had no problems following. “Where did you learn to dance?”
“At Mountain Airs Studio. A member of my Harley group owns the studio and she donated the lessons for the annual Christmas drawing last year. They drew my name.”
“Let me see what you learned from those lessons.” She led Ariel into some underhand turns and a promenade step across the floor. Ariel followed flawlessly. Soon Kiernan went back to the basic box step and pulled Ariel in closer, feeling the heat emanating from her. There was the slight brush of Ariel’s breasts that heightened Kiernan’s senses. She smiled up at Ariel. “You dance very well.”
“So do you.”
“Mandatory lessons from sixth grade to tenth grade, and years of attending events such as these,” Kiernan said lightly, before leading Ariel in a series of complicated moves, impressed how her wife followed every one perfectly.
THE SONG ENDED and another began. Ariel took the lead and guided Kiernan in a slow foxtrot. As the dance progressed, Ariel spun Kiernan into a few turns and executed a dip. She pulled Kiernan close against her at its conclusion and felt the warmth of her body and the press of her soft breasts. Ariel caught her breath as a tremor of arousal coursed through her. At that instant, she stared into Kiernan’s eyes, knowing they were both aware of what was occurring between them. She folded her left arm, bringing Kiernan’s right hand against her bare shoulder, held the soft, warm palm against her skin, and melded against her. Taking a slow, deep breath, she drew in the scent of perfume and Kiernan’s own intoxicating scent, and excitement flooded her senses. The softness of a smooth temple and the silky texture of hair rubbed lightly against her cheek.
Leaning her head slightly, she touched her lips to the warm forehead, right at the hairline, and heard a deep intake of breath. Kiernan peered up, met her eyes, and Ariel saw melting tenderness there as well as the desire. Letting her eyelids close, she brought her lips down to Kiernan’s and lightly brushed against them, then placed her cheek once more against Kiernan’s temple. The velvet touch of lips on the side of her neck made her shiver and inflamed her senses. A voice in the recesses of her thoughts told her she was in danger. Stop. But she had fallen in too deep now and couldn’t pull herself free of the persuasive lure of Kiernan’s sensuality.
The song ended, but the dance continued for a few more steps, neither woman able or willing to end it. Another song started, this one a slow American tango. They separated and stood apart, staring into each other’s eyes. Ariel’s breath caught as she saw the smoldering depths of Kiernan’s passion. She knew it was Kiernan’s turn to lead, but felt compelled to take her in the tango embrace. She wrapped her right arm around and rested it on Kiernan’s upper back, then relaxed when Kiernan placed her left hand on Ariel’s upper arm, tacitly accepting Ariel’s dominance. They locked gazes, and the unspoken challenge that flowed between them electrified Ariel. She clasped Kiernan’s right hand in her left, holding it out in the traditional dance position, and pulled her forward until they were only a few inches apart.
Ariel began the walk, slow, slow, quick, quick, and slow. The chase had begun and she pursued her quarry with the grace of a lioness.
KIERNAN HAD NEVER been so aroused when she danced with another partner, nor had she ever felt so in tune with another’s body language. She sensed Ariel’s every move before she made it. Slow, slow, a pause, quick, quick, closing with their bodies offset to the left and tight at the hip. Ariel executed a right lunge, and Kiernan stepped back with her right leg extended to the side, then shifted forward and sensually slid her left leg up Ariel’s thigh. Ariel’s eyes widened with surprise and passion before she led Kiernan into the next move.
Ariel changed sway, and Kiernan gave her the reproachful glance that was part of the dance, then met her eyes. In that moment, Kiernan knew after the song was over, and after the event was over, their dance would continue throughout the night. Ariel twirled Kiernan away and brought her back against her as the dance ended. They stood frozen in the moment, their bodies together, gazes riveted upon one another. They were unaware of the appreciative claps of their audience, who had stopped dancing to watch them.
Kiernan’s heart raced. A wave of heat cascaded through her, causing her clothes to feel too binding and tight. Reading Ariel’s eyes, she saw the unspoken request to leave. She took Ariel by the hand and led her to their table to retrieve purses and coats. Beverly came up to them with a big, silly grin. “Holy Moly that had to be the sexiest tango I’ve ever seen. It was just—just—Holy Moly.”
“It was a great event, Beverly, and we’re calling it a night.” Kiernan leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek.
Helen walked up, glancing from Ariel to Kiernan. “You two aren’t leaving now, are you?”
Beverly elbowed her and said out of the side of her mouth, “They’re still in the honeymoon stage.” Kiernan rolled her eyes. Helen hugged Kiernan and Ariel, and they said their goodbyes.
Helen and Beverly watched them go. Beverl
y said, “Bet they continue that dance once they get home tonight.”
“Bet they don’t even wait to get home.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
DAVID HELD THE limo door open. Ariel glided into the back, taking the seat facing the front. Kiernan slipped in beside her to sit inches away. Kiernan ordered, “Computer, do not engage seatbelts. Raise privacy panel.” Ariel watched as the solid panel between the passenger area and driver area closed, providing them with total privacy. Kiernan ordered, “Computer, open the roof window.”
The window rolled open, revealing the full moon. Clear safety glass would protect them from the elements for the two-hour ride back to Crestview.
Kiernan shifted to her and stared openly and searchingly. Ariel met her gaze and saw Kiernan’s eyes reflecting the diffuse light of the full moon and stars.
Ariel wasn’t sure who moved first, but they were in each other’s arms, pressed together, mouths hot and open. Teeth clashed and bruised tender flesh, and their tongues wrestled. The embraces of desperate arms tightened to nearly crush the breath out of the other. Throats tight with desire and want ground out guttural moans.
The connection of her mouth on Kiernan’s sent a rushing wave crashing through Ariel’s senses and broke with all its force in her groin. Strong contractions of desire clenched her center. Kiernan pushed Ariel’s coat off and ran her hands over her shoulders. Ariel felt goose pimples down the flesh of her arms and eagerly returned the action. She removed Kiernan’s coat and gathered her up to kiss her mouth with hunger.
Ariel was on fire. All reasoning burned away, leaving only this insane drive of sex and lust and a conflagration of the senses that would consume her if not extinguished. Kiernan’s hand was at her knee, blazing a scorching path inside her thigh over the stockings and stays of her garter belt. She pushed up Ariel’s dress and reached the destination where the inferno burned hottest. Kiernan deftly stroked between Ariel’s legs, over the silken panties soaked with the evidence of her want.
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