by Radclyffe
“Don’t let me interrupt,” Carter said sarcastically, “because I’ve only been trying to reach you for three days.” She managed a smile for the young waitress, who magically appeared at her side, and turned her coffee cup right side up. “Just coffee, thanks.”
“You sure?” The blond waitress wore a short black skirt and a white blouse that was so tight it gaped open between her breasts, displaying a lovely expanse of creamy cleavage. She cocked her hips and gave Carter a special smile. “We’ve got a great menu here.”
“I believe it,” Carter replied, grinning despite her irritation at being made to cool her heels for three days before getting some decent information about what was happening with Rica and the investigation. “But nothing for me right now.”
“Well, if you change your mind”—the waitress slowly ran her fingers over her chest and tapped the plastic badge that said Kylie—“you be sure to ask for me.”
As Kylie sashayed away, Kevin swallowed noisily and said, “Jesus. That never happens to me.”
“Maybe that’s got something to do with your wedding ring.” Carter sipped her coffee. “Eat before your eggs get cold.”
“I can eat and talk.” To prove it, Kevin swiped his toast through the egg yolk on his plate and took a huge bite. “So what bug is biting your ass?”
“It’s not a bug, it’s more like a piranha. By the name of Allen.”
Kevin made a face. “Her. What exactly did you do to her, anyway?”
“Me? Nothing…” Carter couldn’t help but smile at the memory of Allen going native during that kiss, even though her crotch was still sore from the backlash. She bet Allen was still thinking about it too, unless Allen’s powers of denial were even better than Carter imagined. “…much.”
“Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner, but I was tied up meeting with the brass and the state’s attorney the last couple of days.”
“Not your fault,” Carter said with a sigh. “Look, Allen says they’re pulling me in. At least from this part. What do you know about that?”
“You know the feds never tell us everything, and what they share with the higher-ups doesn’t trickle down to us.” He held up a hand when Carter growled. “But, I do know that attention has shifted from the daughter to the nephew.”
“Why?”
“Since the daughter has been in Provincetown, there’s been more activity in the Manhattan gallery—especially after hours. And the interesting thing is, they’re not all Pareto people.”
“You sure?”
“Positive IDs.” Kevin shoveled in another forkful of breakfast and washed it down with coffee. “At least two customers have been Pareto competitors.”
“That doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“It makes even less sense when they show up on the same day that Lorenzo Brassi pays a visit.”
“Brassi again,” Carter said with disgust, immediately remembering the photograph of him with his arms around Rica and his fingers splayed beneath her breast. “What’s your read on that? You think he’s branching out on his own?”
“Maybe, but if he is, he’s dumber than he looks. There’s already a rumor that some highly positioned people want him to succeed Pareto, and not Ricarda. He’d be crazy to risk that.”
“Some men don’t like to wait for power.”
Kevin laughed. “You got that right. Still, he’s got a sweet deal for a guy who’s not a blood relative.”
“What do you mea—oh, right. He’s a nephew by Pareto’s second wife. He and Rica aren’t blood cousins.” Which makes a marriage even more feasible, Carter thought sourly. “He’s been out here sniffing around Rica. If there’s interest in him, why pull me off?”
“Who knows, maybe they think you’ll get in the way of something he’s got going with her.” Kevin smirked and made a suggestive hand gesture. “Business or otherwise.”
Carter put her hands flat on the table and leaned forward, her eyes flashing. “I’m telling you, she’s not in it that way. Allen’s got nothing.”
“Whoa,” Kevin said, sitting back. “Take it easy. I’m just saying maybe she and Brassi are—”
“And I’m saying, they’re not.”
Kevin narrowed his eyes, all trace of frivolity gone. He hunched closer, his big body casting a shadow across the table. “What’s going on? Did you get up close and personal with her already?”
“No,” Carter said sharply.
“But there’s something.”
Carter stared stonily past Kevin out the window.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Kevin made a sound like a load of gravel hitting the pavement. “All the women you’ve blown off after a night or two, and this one is the one that gets to you?”
“Leave it alone, Kevin.”
“You’re the one that has to leave it alone. Leave her alone.” Kevin shook his head. “It’s a damn good thing Allen wants you to back off before you get your ass in a boatload of trouble. Stay away from her, Carter.”
“It looks like I don’t have a choice.”
*
“I’ll have that crated and shipped to you by the end of the week,” Rica said, handing a receipt to the woman who had just purchased one of the most expensive paintings in the gallery. When the chime over the front door jingled, she glanced up automatically. It had been a busy morning, and after finalizing this last sale, she had planned to close for several hours and catch up on the attendant paperwork. She needed an assistant, but she enjoyed filling her time with work. She paused with the receipt extended when she saw Carter. Then she looked quickly back to her customer. “Thank you and I hope you stop by again.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I will. I love your selections.”
As the woman swept out, Rica followed in her wake and flipped the small sign on the front door to Closed. She snapped the lock and turned to face Carter. She hadn't expected to see her again. It had been three days with no contact, and even though she’d risen early each morning to scan the path along the beach, Carter had not returned to jog along the beach trail.
Rica understood the signals perfectly well. Any woman who was interested would have contacted her by now, especially after the blatant invitation she’d made the last time they were together. In retrospect, she was glad she hadn’t reached Carter by phone that night. She would have been humiliated by a polite refusal from Carter after her own none too subtle actions that morning. She’d been motivated more by lust than by reason, and that embarrassed her.
Still, in her own defense, it was very easy to lust after a woman who looked so good in jeans and a faded denim shirt. Carter’s hair was nicely windblown and she looked ever so sexy. Rica couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sorry, we’re closed.”
Carter grinned. “Then my timing’s perfect.” She hefted the paper bag she held in the crook of one arm. “I brought lunch.”
“You’re always trying to feed me.”
“I’m trying to ingratiate myself, remember?”
Rica laughed.
“Besides,” Carter said, “this time we’re going to play tourist first, then have lunch.”
“Oh, are we? You’ve got it all planned.”
“Absolutely,” Carter said, lying with conviction. She hadn’t the slightest idea what she was doing, but she knew she wasn’t leaving town without seeing Rica again. Kevin had said the bosses wanted her back on the mainland, focusing her efforts on Rizzo and her inside connection. She hadn’t been exactly ordered to stay away from Rica, but she wouldn’t have much chance to see her either. So when she’d left the diner she didn’t think about what she was going to do next, she just acted. “We’ve got an outboard waiting for us at Flyer’s, and I’m taking you to Long Point for lunch on the beach. Have you got a jacket here? It’s going to be chilly on the boat.”
Rica stared. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s the middle of the day in the middle of the week. I’m running a business here.”
Carter hooked a thumb in the direction of the door. “Says closed to m
e.”
“I’m in heels, Carter, and this”—Rica indicated her royal blue silk blouse and slacks—“is not picnic wear.”
“We’ll swing by your place. You can change and grab a windbreaker.” Carter took a step closer and kissed Rica lightly on the mouth. “Please.”
Rica felt a warning flutter in her stomach, far far more than she should be feeling from just a simple kiss. “You have to stop doing that.”
“What?” Carter asked, her voice husky.
“Kissing me.”
“Please tell me you’re lying.”
“All right,” Rica said, easing her arms around Carter’s waist. “I’m lying.” She kept her eyes open as she slid her mouth slowly over Carter’s. With a soft sigh, she pressed closer and teased her tongue along the inner surface of Carter’s lip, tugging ever so gently with her teeth.
“Rica,” Carter gasped when Rica pulled away.
“Hmm?” Rica unbuttoned the first button on Carter’s shirt and skimmed her fingertips inside.
Carter, feeling as if she had been washed in fire, broke out into a full body sweat. Even her vision was red. “We’re crushing the sandwiches.”
Rica struggled to make sense of the words, because she was seconds away from dragging Carter down to the floor. The reality of her, the hard length of her thighs, the soft press of her breasts, the hot taste of her mouth, was so much better than the dreams that had brought her to the edge of orgasm more than once in the last few days. She’d never been so helpless to resist a woman in her life. “Well,” she gasped, putting her palms flat against Carter’s chest and pushing back a few inches. She searched Carter’s eyes and smiled, satisfied when she saw her own desire reflected there. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”
“You have no idea what I want.”
“Oh, I think I do.” Rica brushed a single fingertip along the edge of Carter’s lower lip and stepped away. “Let’s go for a boat ride and find out.”
Twenty minutes later, Rica had changed into casual tan slacks and a burgundy pullover. They’d collected some sunscreen, towels, and a blanket at Rica’s, and Carter was now steering the outboard away from the dock at Flyer’s boat rental.
“Cold?” Carter shouted above the wind and the roar of the motor.
Rica sat in the middle of the boat, facing Carter, her hands curled around the edge of the aluminum seat. She tilted her head back so that her hair streamed behind her in the breeze and the sun warmed her face. “Not at all. It’s great out here.”
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Rica said, meaning it. She’d heard it before, almost all her life. From boys and then men, and women. She rarely if ever believed them. It wasn’t their words she distrusted, but why they’d said them. Carter stood with her legs braced in the back of the boat, hips thrust forward, one arm stretched back behind her on the motor. Her shirt was wet from spray and plastered to her chest. When she wasn’t checking the water ahead for other boats, she was looking at Rica. Not just an idle glance, but an absorbing gaze that suggested she was trying to memorize everything about her. Rica shivered. “Watch where you’re going.”
The corner of Carter’s mouth flickered. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Rica tilted her head back again and closed her eyes. She couldn’t keep looking at Carter because just the sight of her was making her excited. Her arousal was fast overtaking her common sense, and as much as she enjoyed the sensation, she needed to remember who she was, and more importantly, who Carter was. Sex was one thing. A very nice thing, to be sure. But what she was starting to feel when she looked at Carter felt dangerously like something else.
The motor quieted and alerted Rica to the fact that they were approaching the beach. It was still too early in the year for it to be crowded, and as she glanced toward the lighthouse at the very tip of Long Point, she could see that they were alone.
“Do you need me to get out and guide us in?” Rica asked.
Carter shook her head. “No. If you get wet, you’ll be too cold. I’ll just coast us up onto the beach.”
A minute later they grounded and Carter jumped out. She grabbed the bow of the boat and pulled it farther up onto the sand. “Toss me the gear.”
Rica did, and then climbed onto the small platform at the bow. Before she could jump off, Carter grasped her waist and swung her down. When she landed, they were body to body again, and it was the most natural thing in the world to wrap her arms around Carter’s neck and kiss her.
“Thanks,” Rica said when she finally broke the kiss. She skimmed her fingers through Carter’s damp hair. “It’s too cold to make love in the surf, so I’d suggest we take a walk instead.”
“Whatever you say,” Carter said, taking Rica’s hand and grabbing the gear with the other. Rica was in control and Carter knew it, and she didn’t know what to do about it. After leaving Kevin and knowing she was going to see Rica, regardless of anyone’s orders, she had finally stopped pretending that she was doing her job. Being with Rica had nothing to do with Rica’s father or Carter’s being an undercover investigator or Allen’s FBI sting operation. It had everything to do with the fact that Rica was an intriguing woman and just thinking about her made Carter ache to be close to her. Yes, she wanted her. Desperately, urgently. But just as much as she wanted to taste her again, to run her hands over the sleek lines of her body, she wanted to know what drove a young, intelligent, vibrant woman to leave everything in her life behind and seclude herself in a sleepy little town by the sea. Because that’s exactly what Rica had done. “You’re the boss.”
“Actually,” Rica said playfully, leaning close to brush a kiss along the edge of Carter’s jaw, “I’m not.”
It was the first time Rica had ever directly alluded to her father’s business, and Carter knew she should follow up on it. Instead, she swung their joined hands and pointed toward a natural cul-de-sac in the dunes where they would be shielded from the worst of the wind by the rising swells of sand on either side. “We can spread the blanket out in there and continue the conversation you started by the boat.”
“Not until I’ve had lunch and… did I see champagne in that gear bag of yours?”
“You did.” They stopped and Carter handed one end of the blanket to Rica. Together they spread it out on the sand and weighted it down at the corners with items from the bag. “Go ahead and get comfortable, and I’ll serve you.”
Rica stretched out on the blanket, leaning on her elbows to watch Carter put out their lunch. “This just gets better all the time.”
Carter shot her a grin. “Wait till we get to dessert.”
Rica was afraid she wouldn’t make it through lunch without begging Carter to touch her. She so desperately needed to get control of herself, and yet she loved the way being around Carter made her feel. For the first time in her life, she felt not only wonderfully alive, but completely herself. “I’ll try. But I’m not making any promises.”
“I’m not asking for any.” Carter knelt beside Rica on the blanket, the bottle of champagne cradled between her palms, and leaned down to kiss her. She kept it light and easy because she wanted it to be anything but. And it just wasn’t possible. “Let’s just enjoy it.”
“Yes. Let’s.”
Chapter Sixteen
Tory fumbled for a towel and wiped at the smear of puréed carrots on Reggie’s cheek. “Come on, honey, two more bites and we’re done.” She glanced at the clock. Ten minutes to two. She was going to be late for work. Again.
“Never mind,” Tory murmured. “It’s not your fault.” If she’d been sleeping better, the few extra hours she needed for child care without Reese home to help wouldn’t have mattered. But the bed was too large and achingly empty, and sleep just wouldn’t come.
“My schedule is just off, that’s all. Things will be fine in a few more days.”
Reggie smiled and blew carrot bubbles.
The crunch of tires over shells in the driveway drew Tory’s attention, and sh
e set the spoon aside, wondering as to the identity of her unexpected visitor. She took three steps toward the screen door and jerked to a stop with a small gasp. She could just make out the dark-haired officer in the patrol car, and for a second, all she could think was Reese!
When Bri climbed out, the disappointment was sharp enough to make her moan softly. Still, she forced a smile as Bri rapped on the door.
“Come in,” Tory called, turning back to Reggie, who was making impatient noises. “We’re about done with lunch and then I have to take her over to Kate’s.”
“Are you working today?” Bri tossed her hat onto the counter, followed by her keys.
Tory watched the familiar action, thinking of how many times she’d seen Reese do exactly the same thing. Bri, with her thick, jet black hair, brilliant blue eyes, and confident walk, seemed more like Reese every day. Tory was glad to see her, but on some irrational level, it hurt.
“I’m due in the clinic in about five minutes.”
Bri looked at Reggie, who was eagerly reaching for the next spoonful of baby food. “Want me to finish that so you can get ready?”
“Are you on your lunch break?”
“Yeah.”
“I’d love for you to take her, but I’m warning you right now, you’ll probably end up with carrots on your uniform.”
Bri shrugged. “No problem.”
Tory smiled, knowing that Bri was every bit as particular about the appearance of her uniform as Reese was. God, could they be any more alike? She touched Bri’s shoulder lightly on her way to wash her hands. “Thank you.”
“Uh, Tory?”
“Mmm?”
“Have you heard from Reese?”
Tory dried her hands and folded the towel with more care than necessary. “I had an e-mail two days ago. She said she was about to ship out, and that it would be a while before she could contact me again. You?”
