by Radclyffe
Jordan rubbed her closed lids. Her head throbbed with more than fatigue and worry. She ached with the old sense of loss and betrayal.
“Hey,” Kip said gently, the weight of her body settling beside Jordan on the sofa. “You okay?”
“Yes,” Jordan said, opening her eyes and forcing aside the memories. She scanned Kip’s face, searching for clues as to how she was doing. Kip was so very good at hiding what troubled her. The anxious lines in her forehead were gone and a bright light leapt in her eyes. Jordan took her hand, her heart easing to Kip’s happiness. “Well? Tell me.”
A huge grin split Kip’s face. “It’s a boy. Seven pounds, eight ounces, healthy and hearty. Man, he’s got a lot of hair, the same color as Savannah’s. Golden and thick.”
“Did you get the video?”
Kip made a face. “I did, but boy did he look a mess right at the beginning.”
Jordan laughed. “Honey, you’re not supposed to take unflattering pictures during the delivery. You’re supposed to wait until they get them cleaned up a little bit. I hope you got one of those.”
“Yup, all pink and pretty in his delivery blanket and Savannah holding him. They both looked gorgeous.”
Jordan kissed her cheek. “I am so happy for everyone. Does his father know?”
“I just texted him a picture. He’s in the air right now, so he probably won’t get it till he lands. But everything’s good.”
“How do you feel?”
“Like I just ran a marathon.” Kip slid her arm around Jordan’s shoulders and pulled her close. “Thanks for being here. It really made a difference during the scary parts.”
“I wanted to be here. Kind of like when you were fussing over the seedlings. If it’s important to you, then it is to me too.”
Kip frowned. “We really ought to head over to the garden. Make sure everything’s okay there.”
“Maybe you should stay here for a little while. I’ll go. You don’t need to.”
“No way. I’m not backing out now.” Kip squeezed her shoulders before moving away. “Let me go talk to the nurses and make sure everything is good with Savannah. They’ll have my number and can call me if they need me. Mark should be here around midnight.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I don’t plan on letting you out of my sight tonight.”
Despite her fatigue and worry, Jordan’s spirits soared. She wasn’t ready to say good-bye to Kip, either. Even for a few hours.
*
“What do you think?” Kip said as they walked through the garden beds. They’d turned on the floods and Jordan had a flashlight to get a better look at the young seedlings.
“We’ve got some frost injury to some of the smaller shoots, but I don’t think we’re going to lose many, if any at all.”
“Ha.” Kip shoved her hands in her pockets. “When will we know? Are they gonna be stunted or something?”
“The drop in temperatures might slow down their growth for a while, but it’s early, and if we keep the agricultural fabric on them during the day to push the temperatures up, they’ll likely catch up. We were pushing things to begin with trying to get an early harvest.”
“Yeah, Mr. Liu and his buddies are pretty anxious for that.”
Jordan laughed. “Really. They seem to think I can just wave my hand and magically produce vegetables.”
Kip stopped, snaked an arm around Jordan’s waist, and pulled her close. Kissing her neck, she whispered against her ear, “Well, I think you can do magic with those hands. Although I had something in mind other than making tomatoes grow big.”
Laughing, Jordan wrapped her arms around Kip’s neck and leaned back to look into her face. “Really? You’re not done yet?”
Kip looked confused. “What? That was hours ago. Practically twelve of them.”
“Oh, I see. Rapid recovery.”
“Hey, you’re the one who’s in her prime. I’m just trying to keep up.”
Jordan leaned in and nipped at Kip’s mouth. The playful kiss got away from her in an instant, and she had to have more. She had to taste her, feel her, absorb all that was wonderful and intoxicating about Kip. Which was just about everything. Seconds, minutes passed and she forgot everything except sating the hunger that crashed through her. When she drew back for breath, her heart thundered beneath her breast and her toes curled in her boots. “We need to leave.”
Kip’s chest heaved. “Yeah, we do.”
“You’ve got some ground to make up.”
Kip grinned. “Ready when you are.”
“Oh,” Jordan said softly, raking her hands through Kip’s hair. “I’m ready.”
They grabbed a cab on the street and were back at Jordan’s in fifteen minutes.
“Are you hungry?” Jordan said as she let them into the apartment. “I’ve got some pizza I froze just last week.”
“Yes, but later for the pizza.” Kip dragged her toward the bathroom. “I don’t care that the shower’s small. I’m all for a little skin on skin right about now.”
“In a hurry?”
“Yes.” Kip slammed the door behind them. “If Savannah hadn’t called, I’d have kept you in bed until tomorrow.” She edged Jordan back against the door. “I’m never going to get enough of you.”
Jordan’s thighs trembled at the heavy look in Kip’s eyes. “Why don’t you try?”
“Oh yeah, I will.” Kip yanked her T-shirt off over her head and shoved her jeans down. Before Jordan could follow suit, Kip was unbuttoning her shirt, kissing her throat and the inner curve of her breasts while her hands roamed lower, tugging Jordan’s shirt loose to claim the warm skin of her stomach.
“Pants,” Kip muttered against Jordan’s breast before pulling Jordan’s nipple into her mouth.
Jordan sagged. If the door hadn’t stopped her momentum, she’d have slid to the floor. Never. Never had she been wanted this way. “Kip, stop that before I fall.”
“Not gonna happen.” Kip dropped to her knees and kissed Jordan’s stomach. Waiting. Waiting so long. Waiting forever for this woman, this place, this rightness of being. The shell around her shattered and heat flooded the cold dark hallways of her soul. “I need you.”
“Take.” Jordan unzipped her trousers, and Kip grabbed the waistband and yanked them down. Then Kip was kissing lower, forcing Jordan’s legs apart with her shoulders. Kip’s mouth closed over her, and Jordan reeled, reaching out blindly for the edge of the vanity. Her head banged back against the door, and she closed her eyes, every ounce of blood pooling in the pit of her stomach, throbbing and aching. She gripped the back of Kip’s head with her free hand, guiding her mouth exactly where she needed her.
“I don’t think…” Her words were lost as her body took over. She rocked against Kip’s mouth, desperate for the heat and the slick torture of her tongue. Lights danced beneath her closed lids. Her breath sobbed out, foreign and wild sounding.
Kip’s arms came around her hips, holding her as she plunged and licked and sucked.
“Don’t let go,” Jordan gasped. Her legs gave way, and she lost touch with everything but the swirling explosion of pleasure. Before the last tremor ebbed, Kip surged to her feet, pinning Jordan against the door with the weight of her body, her gasps ragged and raw. Her back was slick with sweat, her skin hot under Jordan’s hands. Jordan stroked her, licked her throat, raked her teeth along the edge of her jaw. When Kip growled approval, a thrill of power shot through her. Jordan laughed unsteadily. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”
Kip laughed and kissed her throat. “You are the sexiest woman in the universe.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Jordan draped her arms weakly over Kip’s shoulders. “You seem to know exactly what I need.”
“You’re everything I need,” Kip murmured, her breasts pressed to Jordan’s, her legs straddling Jordan’s.
Jordan rocked into the satin heat between Kip’s thighs. “I know one thing you need right now.”
“Oh, I think I do.” Jordan clasped Kip’s hips and thrust harder. “Shower first? Can you wait?”
“It depends.” Kip kissed her. “Are you gonna make it worth my while?”
Jordan laughed. “Oh, you can count on it.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Kip woke out of habit at three thirty in the morning. She’d gotten used to being up early to meet Jordan at the garden. Without even knowing it, her life had settled into a pattern that was more natural than anything she’d ever done. Working with Jordan to build the outreach program, toiling in the soil, banging together projects that ran the gamut from the entire greenhouse to a compost bin, were as satisfying as pursuing a hot new idea or chasing an elusive design. Different, but in so many ways the same. Making a vision real was what design was all about. The process was what satisfied her, as much as the product. And the bonus at the end of the day was she’d spent hours with a woman who by turns fascinated, enticed, and surprised her. Jordan was the difference.
Kip turned onto her side and wrapped an arm around Jordan’s waist. The change, so gradual she’d only noticed just how titanic when she’d realized she didn’t miss a single thing about her previous routine—her previous life, was all about Jordan. Jordan was the center of her pleasure, the axis around which Kip’s world revolved. She’d never imagined that’s what love was like—a solar system of stars and magic, with the sun the smile in a woman’s eyes. She nuzzled the warmth at the back of Jordan’s neck, inhaled her scent, melded her naked skin to Jordan’s. This was what she’d been searching for. This singular touch that reached deeper than flesh, this unique connection to a soul that called to hers as none other. She kissed the triangle between Jordan’s neck and shoulder. She recognized these feelings in every corner of her being. This was love.
“Are you trying to wake me up?” Jordan murmured sleepily and pushed her butt into the curve of Kip’s hips.
“Only sorta,” Kip whispered. “Mostly I was just enjoying you.”
Jordan chuckled. “Is that what you’re calling it now.” She covered Kip’s hand where it cupped her breast. “I sort of thought you were trying to seduce me, myself.”
“Maybe some of that too.” Kip smiled against Jordan’s skin and kissed the inner edge of her shoulder blade. She loved every single angle, line, and curve of her body from the satiny soft skin, the work-hardened muscles, and the subtle lift of her breasts to the invitation of her gently surging hips. Her stomach tightened with want and she caressed the faint swell of Jordan’s abdomen, feathering her fingers lower.
Jordan clamped down on her hand, stopping her explorations.
Kip grumbled, “Hey.”
Jordan half turned and kissed Kip. “Hey, yourself. We have work to do.”
“I was getting to that.”
Laughing, Jordan tugged Kip’s fingers back up her belly and molded them to her breast, holding them there with her hand clasping Kip’s. “This is not exactly the work I had in mind.”
Kip brushed her thumb over Jordan’s nipple and Jordan moaned. “You sure about that?”
“All right, I could be convinced, but”—Jordan shifted away—“I’m not going to be. Later for you.”
Kip propped her head on her elbow. “Promise?”
The room was still dark, but enough light filtered in from the never-sleeping city for Kip to see the amusement dance in Jordan’s eyes. Something else danced there too, a kindred fire to her own. Her belly warmed, knowing she was desired. Patience had never been her long suit, and she’d never wanted a woman the way she wanted Jordan. Waiting, she was discovering, was a pleasant torture all its own when the woman she was waiting for was Jordan.
“I don’t have to promise.” Jordan leaned closer and kissed her, slow and deep. “You already know, don’t you? That I want you? And I’ll be looking forward to it? Because if you don’t, I’m doing something wrong.”
“Believe me,” Kip whispered, “you’re doing everything right.”
“You’re sure?” Jordan stroked Kip’s cheek.
“Positive.” Kip didn’t doubt Jordan’s desire. She read it in her eyes, in every touch of her hands, in the subtle glimpses she could feel on her skin throughout the day. Being wanted was a heady pleasure and one she believed was about her and not her name or her position. But being wanted wasn’t enough. For the first time, she wanted far more than that, and when she’d worked off her community debt and settled her obligations to the feds, she would make her intentions known. For now, she was just going to be happy she’d gotten so damn lucky.
Sighing, Kip said, “Well, we should probably get going, if we’re going to get our chores done.”
“Our chores. I haven’t heard that in a good many years.” Jordan laughed and caressed Kip’s back. “You probably would’ve been a good farmer. Could’ve kept the tractor running.”
Kip pulled her close and took what she needed to make it through the day, tasting her, absorbing her heat, memorizing the lines of her body. When Jordan trembled in her arms, she gently drew back. “I can keep a lot more than the tractor running.”
Jordan nuzzled Kip’s breast. “So I see.”
“Okay. Now we really need to get up.” Kip sat up on the side of the bed and surveyed the pile of clothes on the floor. “And I am not wearing those for the third day in a row.”
“Why don’t you run home before you come by the garden. We can wait an hour to get started.”
Kip ran a hand through her hair. “You sure?”
Jordan sat up beside her, tossing the sheet aside. “Yes, of course. Go. Get a shower, check your mail, grab clean clothes. We’ll plan on heading out at five thirty.”
Kip pulled on her rumpled clothes and kissed Jordan good-bye. “I’ll make it sooner if I can. I miss you already.”
Jordan thrust her hands into Kip’s hair and pulled her head down for a long, hard kiss. “Remember that while you’re gone.”
“Oh yeah,” Kip muttered, head reeling. “I will.”
*
Kip’s apartment seemed sterile and soulless when she walked in, shedding her clothes on the way to the bedroom. She liked the place, on the surface. She’d chosen the colors and the furniture and the decor, but the place felt like what it was—a place to sleep and eat and stop over when she wasn’t working. Nothing about it spelled home, not the way Jordan’s place had from the second she’d walked in. Because Jordan lived in that place, just as she lived in the garden, just as her spirit touched everything around her. And now she lived in Kip’s heart, rooted deep and bright.
She showered quickly, and grabbed jeans and T-shirt from her dresser. As she sat down on the side of the bed to pull on socks and boots, her cell rang. She smiled to herself. Jordan must be missing her too. She grabbed the cell and frowned when she saw the number.
“Dad?”
“Catherine.” Her father sounded awake and businesslike.
“What’s wrong?” She checked the time. A minute after five a.m. Her father kept early hours, but he never called her at this time of day, even for business. His admin made those calls.
“I’m afraid there’s a problem with your brother.”
Kip’s chest tightened. “What do you mean?”
Randy hadn’t been very communicative, even after his period of imposed no outside contact had been over. He’d emailed a couple times, taken one of her calls, and hadn’t had much to say. His replies to her questions about the rehab program had been brief and vague, and she’d chalked the underlying discomfort and evasiveness in his conversation to embarrassment over the incident that had landed him in there and earned her a stint of community service. Not that she’d minded how that had played out. She’d met Jordan, after all. Still, maybe she should have paid a little more attention to what he’d been saying or, rather, not saying. Most of the time when she tried to reach him, he’d been in session or unavailable. The intermittent progress reports from her father had said he was doin
g fine, and she’d taken that at face value, too caught up with Jordan and her own exciting revelations. “Has he had some kind of setback?”
“Your brother signed himself out of the center just before midnight last night.”
Kip’s stomach dropped. “Where is he?”
“That’s something quite a few people would like to know. I don’t suppose you’ve heard from him?”
“No. What about the latest girlfriend—Lindsay?” She did some quick mental calculations. Randy was over halfway through his three-month program—longer than he’d made it the first two times. Knowing him, he’d just gotten bored and decided he’d done penance enough for his latest folly. “He’s either going to contact her or one of his other exes.”
“I have our security people checking with her now and any of the others we know of.” His voice telegraphed his distaste for Randy’s frequent liaisons, another source of recurrent strife between the two. “But if he contacts anyone, I would assume it would be you. If he continues true to form, and I see no reason that he wouldn’t.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ve always been his protector. If he’s in trouble, he’ll expect you to continue to take care of his problems.”
Kip bit back the automatic retort that maybe if her father had been a little more protective, she wouldn’t have had to be, but that wasn’t altogether fair. She had always been Randy’s shield, even before the accident, and that had only become more pronounced after they were left on their own, or so they’d felt. In grade school she’d intervened on his behalf when he’d gotten involved in schoolyard skirmishes, and later, in high school, she’d smoothed over the hurt feelings of the girls he’d played and unceremoniously dumped. By the time they’d become adults, helping him out with his run-ins with the law had just seemed natural. She couldn’t argue that her father was wrong now. “I haven’t heard from him. His attendance was voluntary, right? So he hasn’t actually broken any rules by leaving.”
