by V. K. Powell
Reclining on the lounger, she looked up at the cloudless sky and tried to count stars. She needed a distraction or she’d pop out of her skin. The last time she’d felt this unencumbered and ready to commit had been—never. She relished the idea of planning a future with Abby and returning to a job she loved. It wouldn’t be as simple as imagining it and making it happen, but together they could do anything.
Abby’s rental car pulled into the driveway a few minutes later, and Loane forced herself to stay put. The thrill of anticipation danced up and down her spine, and her hands sweated inside her leather gloves. She felt like a teenager waiting to be plucked from the stag line at prom.
The car door slammed and she heard the back gate squeak open, then closed. With each footfall of Abby’s approach, Loane’s heart beat faster. By the time she rounded the corner and stepped onto the porch, Loane was practically panting. Abby wore a pair of faded jeans that sported holes at the knees and a long-sleeved kelly-green sweater that hugged her breasts like Loane wanted to. Her body vibrated from the need to touch Abby, to hold her, and to solidify their connection.
“Is this a private party or can anybody join?” Without waiting for an answer, Abby sat down beside her and kissed her until she could barely breathe.
“Definitely…private.” Abby’s kisses started like a delicate ballet across her lips and deepened into a stomp dance of aching. “Abby.”
Abby pulled back as far as Loane’s hug would allow. “Am I going too fast? Do you still need time?”
“Your speed is perfect, and I don’t need any more time.” She poured two glasses of wine and offered one to Abby. “Business first. A toast to your case. Well done.” They clinked glasses and Loane almost drained hers as nerves tangled in her stomach.
“Thank you for this, hon, and for all your help.”
“Is everything wrapped up on your end?”
“Pretty much. Fowler is trying to make a deal. Those fancy cigars that Carl sent Simon every month were laced with PCP. That’s why he was so paranoid the night he died. He’d found out about the weapons and threatened to close down the clubs. Carl left out that little detail in his confession. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he would have three members of his family killed for money.”
“And Fowler and Jeffries were protection?”
“Yep, distracting law enforcement while they collected giant payoffs. That’s how the gunrunners successfully dodged arrest for so long. And Carl had been blackmailing Fowler and Jeffries to ensure their cooperation. Fowler has a proclivity for young girls, and Jeffries was desperate to keep her daughter’s lesbianism under wraps. You were right that there was more to the story than money.”
“So…our little street urchin is a lesbian. I didn’t know.”
“Me either, but with everybody flipping on everybody else, we’ll have enough evidence and testimony to keep her out of it entirely.”
“That’s good. She needs a fresh start to go along with her new home. Thank you.”
“And where is that exactly?”
“We traded places. She’s in a condo downtown. You’ll get to see it when we go check on her.” She slid her hand up Abby’s back and felt the heat through her glove. “I want you to know how very proud I am of you. This case would’ve fallen apart several times if you hadn’t been so competent and determined.”
Abby took their wineglasses and placed them on the table. “That means more to me than you know. It’s taken a while, but I’ve become a pretty kick-ass agent. I’m sorry I had to keep so much from you in the beginning.”
She leaned forward and sealed the sincerity of her words with a kiss. Loane never wanted to stop but there were things to say. “Abby, I want to talk to you before hormones take over. I need you to know that what I’m saying is sincere and not sex-induced.”
Abby straightened on the side of the lounger and looked into her eyes. “I’m listening.”
“I’ve been very unfair to you and—”
“Loane, it’s all right.”
“No, it’s not. Please let me finish. Even if you don’t need to hear this, I need to say it out loud for the first time in my life.”
Abby stroked the side of her face and brushed her thumb across her bottom lip. The golden brown of her eyes deepened with such a look of love that Loane almost whimpered. “Go ahead, my darling.”
“I’m in love with you, Abby. I’ve been afraid to admit it. But I’ve learned a few things. You kept your real identity from me and I kept my true self from you.” Loane scrubbed her hands together in frustration. Her words sounded like a series of Harlequin romance one-liners, not eloquent, as she’d hoped. “We had the best intentions, but in hindsight I think my sin was greater. It’s certainly more limiting. What I’m trying to say is I’m sorry. And I love you. And I’d like another chance if I haven’t blown it.”
In the past, this was the point at which she’d run for the hills, convinced that she’d never measure up to whatever expectation had been thrust upon her. Not this time. If Abby walked away, she would be devastated, but at least she’d know that she’d done her best and it was good enough. Loane held her breath and the seconds crawled. She could clearly hear the blood rushing in her ears. She’d bared her soul and this was what it felt like—naked and exposed, defenseless and afraid, vulnerable and hopeful.
Abby’s gaze searched her face and settled again on her eyes as if divining the truth of her words. “I love you, Loane. You can have as many chances as you need.”
She scooted behind Abby, wrapped her legs around her, and kissed the soft skin at the back of her neck. “I want you to know all of me. I promise, no holding back.” Abby shivered in her arms. “Are you cold?”
“Needy.”
“Let’s take care of that right now.” She stood and offered Abby her hand.
“Would you do something for me first?”
“Anything.”
“Take off your gloves.”
Loane hesitated only a second before sliding the leather coverings from her hands. She held them out for Abby to see. “Not pretty, are they?”
Abby kissed the crinkled, discolored flesh. “They’re beautiful, and I can’t wait to feel them all over my body.”
The anxiety she’d felt about revealing herself to Abby vanished. Abby accepted her as she was—flawed, damaged, and scarred. “Well, let’s get started.” She pulled Abby from the lounger and wrapped her arm around her waist. Abby took a step forward and almost collapsed as her right leg buckled. Loane tightened her grip and helped Abby regain her balance. “I guess we both have our battle wounds.”
“From now on, let’s focus on the healing.”
“Deal.” Loane led her into the bedroom they’d left almost four months ago. “I hope being back here is okay.”
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. This is perfect.”
She kissed Abby but pulled back when she tried to bring their bodies together. “May I undress you?” A rich pink flush covered Abby’s cheeks as she turned her palms up in surrender.
She hooked her thumbs in the hem of Abby’s cashmere sweater and teased it up her body, bending to kiss each new expanse of flesh. She tickled the fabric across Abby’s unfettered breasts and smiled as her nipples puckered. “So gorgeous.” Heat sparked between her legs as if physically confirming her statement. She tensed her abs to stop the spread of desire and shucked Abby’s sweater over her head. The tender, leisurely seduction she’d planned was slipping away.
“Touch me, Loane.”
Abby’s firm breasts called to her as clearly as her words, but she was determined to go slowly and commit every second of their reunion to memory. “Not yet.” She skimmed her tongue over Abby’s pleading lips, need coiling in her own body. Abby reached for her, but Loane knelt and grabbed the front of her jeans. She fumbled with the zipper, her fingers like clumsy mittens.
When the fabric finally fell away, Abby’s creamy skin summoned her. She stripped the jeans down Abby’s legs and inha
led the fragrance of her arousal. Her clit twitched, signaling the start of a process over which she had no control. “God, Abby.”
“Will you touch me now? I’m dying here.” Abby fell across the bed and kicked free of her jeans and shoes.
Loane peeled off her clothes, glad that nothing required unbuttoning, and eased herself down beside Abby. “I’ve missed you so much.” She kissed Abby again, pouring all the feelings of the past months into it. “Never felt this way before.” Tears of joy slid down her cheeks. She was about to come just looking at Abby, and she knew it.
Abby rolled over on top of Loane and wrapped her arms around her. “I love you, Loane.” She felt Loane’s tears on the side of her face. They’d broken through another barrier in their relationship. They were finally emotionally connected as deeply as they were physically. The hesitation she’d experienced in the past melted away. She wanted Loane more at that moment than she ever had. The force of it swelled inside her like a storm and she couldn’t wait any longer.
“Are you okay?” Loane looked up at her.
“I need you, badly.”
“Anything, name it.”
“Our first night together. That’s what I want.”
Without breaking contact, Loane sat up against the headboard, and Abby straddled her. She guided Loane’s hand between her legs. “Inside me.” When Loane’s finger slid inside, Abby rose to accommodate her and settled into a steady rhythm. “Yes. I love your hands on me.”
Abby was in no hurry but knew she couldn’t hold out. She’d waited too long to feel Loane’s touch again. Rising and falling on Loane’s skillful hand, she watched the muscles ripple along her arms and chest. She massaged Loane’s breasts and tweaked her nipples, enjoying the increased pace her actions created.
“Play with yourself,” Loane said.
Abby licked her fingers and circled her rigid clit. Loane timed her thrusts perfectly and Abby almost came at the first touch. “So good…you do remember.”
“Everything about you. Look at me, Abby.”
Abby opened her eyes and saw the love on Loane’s face that she’d longed for. “I love you.” She rubbed her clit faster and Loane kept pace. Stroke for stroke, Loane filled and emptied her until every nerve in her body was saturated with sensation. “More.”
“Come all over me, Abby.”
With a final frenzied pump, she slumped forward, rubbing herself against Loane’s center. The orgasm oozed from her like warm honey on a summer day. Spasm after delicious spasm milked her until she couldn’t move.
“All systems working properly, I see,” Loane whispered in her ear.
“Finally.” She rolled to her side and draped her leg over Loane’s body. “We are so freaking perfect together, do you know that?”
“Of course.”
“Pretty smug with yourself right now, aren’t you, Landry?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m a love machine.”
“Better be just for me.” Abby hadn’t been so happy or seen Loane so happy since their early days together. She hoped their future would hold as much promise as this moment.
“Only you,” Loane assured her.
They lay entwined in each other’s arms and legs until their bodies cooled and Loane reached for a blanket. “In case I haven’t told you in the past five minutes, I love you, Abigail Marconi.” Her voice sounded distant and serious. “So, what happens now, with your work, I mean…and us?”
“That depends on you. Bowman is taking over the Greensboro office and offered me a position. If you’re staying with the GPD, I could be happy here. If not, we could start over somewhere else.”
“You’d stay here, with me…and not leave?”
“I’m never leaving you again. Are you asking me to move in with you?” Abby asked.
“This is a good family home, so yes.”
“That’s good because I checked out of the hotel. Carl was paying for it.”
Quiet for a long moment, Loane played with a curl of Abby’s hair. “What about your family?”
“I want to be wherever you are. And my family can come visit. It’s your decision.”
“It’s not just a decision, it’s a commitment, and we make it together.” Loane looked like she was earnestly weighing options. “But I’d like to make a go of it here, if you’re willing. I could reconnect with my brother, mend some fences at the department, and rebuild my career. Would you be happy working here now that you’ve attained such celebrity?”
“Celebrity fades, what we have doesn’t. Sounds like we’ve made a commitment.” Abby rolled over on top of Loane, kissed her, and slid down between her legs.
Loane gasped when Abby strummed her nipples with the tips of her fingernails and ringed the base of her clit with light circles. “I need you, Abby.” She wanted this more than anything she’d ever imagined. This wasn’t sex. It was making love with the woman she adored.
Abby moaned and sent another shock of desire straight to Loane’s crotch. She struggled to keep a slow rhythmic pace as Abby’s mouth worked magic on her clit. Loane was mentally three steps ahead, with her fingers buried inside Abby, riding her thigh, and about to come.
The image was too much. She flipped Abby over, straddled her thigh, and eased her fingers through the slickness between Abby’s legs. She parted the folds of delicate skin and flicked her rigid flesh. Abby twitched and thrust her pelvis.
“No fair.” Her words were almost a whimper.
“I want you squirming under me when I come,” Loane said.
“You’ve got the sexual patience of a rabbit.”
“And you love it.”
“Yes, I do.”
Loane shifted her weight on her knees and brushed her pubic mound against Abby’s. The light friction was like standing on a concrete slab while it was being jackhammered. Electricity reverberated through her body until she felt weak. Her arms shook and she almost collapsed. Abby’s pelvis rose to meet hers and strong arms pulled her down.
“Now, hon. I’m ready now.”
Loane lowered herself and the connection was complete. She covered Abby’s mouth and claimed her with a kiss so deep she struggled to breathe. This was where she belonged. She poked and licked with her tongue, sucked and surrendered with her lips, and drank in all that Abby offered in return. She’d never thirsted for the taste of a woman like this and never been so sated by a kiss.
She looked into Abby’s eyes, hazy with lust and need. “I love you, Abby.”
“Show me.”
She kissed Abby’s ear, tongued her way down the side of her neck, and captured a breast. Her nipple was pebbled and rigid in contrast to the pliable flesh as she sucked and rocked in unison. She rubbed her center against Abby’s, reveling in the mingling of their juices and the heightened smell of arousal. Heat surged in her veins. Abby’s fingernails traced a path down her back and she stroked faster. “Oh, yes.”
“Come for me, Loane, please.”
She clamped her legs together. I swear to uphold the laws of the State of North Carolina and the— Her body stilled slightly.
Abby said, “Let go, hon. I plan to share a lifetime of climaxes with you, and I want you totally present for every one.”
The only thing Loane needed to know about history at that moment was that it didn’t have to repeat itself in her life again. She surrendered everything except the sensation of being connected to Abby. Feeling her skin. Sucking her breast. Tonguing her nipple. Riding her crotch. Her legs tingled and tensed as the orgasm built.
When Abby dug her nails into Loane’s ass and forced her tighter against her, Loane lost it. “That’s it, Abby, that’s it.” As her orgasm washed over her, she knew what was true. She pumped until her legs would no longer support her, until sensation drained her, and she collapsed on top of Abby. “Oh. My. God.”
Her love for Abby was a gut-certain feeling, like the first time she’d kissed a girl or the initial taste of chocolate that left her craving forever. She trusted Abby and their love, and she’d ne
ver doubt it or herself again.
“I love you, Abigail Marconi.”
About the Author
A thirty-year veteran of a midsized police department, VK was a police officer by necessity (it paid the bills) and a writer by desire (it didn’t). Her career spanned numerous positions including beat officer, homicide detective, vice/narcotics lieutenant, and assistant chief of police. Now retired, she devotes her time to writing, traveling, home decorating, and volunteer work.
Praise for VK Powell
“This story takes some unusual twists and at one point, I was convinced that I knew ‘who did it’ only to find out that I was wrong. VK Powell knows crime drama, she kept me guessing until the end, and I was not disappointed at the outcome. And that’s not to slight VK Powell’s knack for romance…Readers who appreciate mysteries with a touch of drama and intense erotic moments will enjoy Justifiable Risk.”—Queer Magazine
“VK Powell has given her fans an exciting read. The plot of Fever is filled with twists, turns, and ‘seat of your pants’ danger…Fever gives readers both great characters and erotic scenes along with insight into life in the African bush.”—Just About Write
“From the first chapter of Suspect Passions Powell builds erotic scenes which sear the page. She definitely takes her readers for a walk on the wild side! Her characters, however, are also women we care about. They are bright, witty, and strong. The combination of great sex and great characters make Suspect Passions a must read.”—Just About Write
“If you like cop novels, or even television cop shows with women as full partners with male officers…[To Protect and Serve] is the book for you. It’s got drama, excitement, conflict, and even some fairly hot lesbian sex. The writer is a retired cop, so she really writes from a place of authenticity. As a result, you have a realistic quality to the writing that puts me in mind of early Joseph Wambaugh, before his writing became formulaic.”—Lesbian News
