by Radclyffe
“Feels so good.”
“Oh yeah.” Carter skimmed her mouth over Rica’s, then worked her way along Rica’s jaw to her ear. She tugged on her earlobe with her teeth and traced the rim with her tongue before teasing inside. Rica whimpered and arched against her. Carter didn’t think she’d ever been so hard and so ready. “Rica,” she whispered. “Open your eyes.”
Rica, her flickering pupils wide and black, met Carter’s gaze. “Can I touch you now?”
“Please.”
Smiling dreamily, Rica skimmed her fingers up and down the center of Carter’s stomach, then brushed through the hair between her thighs, then circled three fingertips over the base of Carter’s rigid clitoris. She massaged her in slow, steady circles. “You’re so wonderfully swollen and wet. Does it feel good?”
“Amazing.” Carter gasped and kissed Rica urgently, unconsciously squeezing and twisting Rica’s nipple. They kissed and stroked and caressed until Carter could barely breathe. Every muscle in her body was in an unrelenting state of spasm. “Can’t take much more.”
“You need to come, don’t you?” Rica breathed against Carter’s mouth, flicking her tongue between Carter’s lips as she kept up her firm, methodical strokes. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want to come all over you. So fucking hard.” Carter released Rica’s breast and slid her hand between Rica’s thighs. She cupped her sex, her fingertips gliding just inside her.
Rica moaned softly and twitched on Carter’s fingers. “Shall I finish you now, darling? Would you like that?” She thrust into the depths of Carter’s engorged flesh, switching to long, full caresses.
“Yes. Yes, Christ, please,” Carter said, hips lifting frantically. “Make me come, Rica. Rica, Rica—”
“That’s right, darling, that’s right,” Rica crooned, working Carter into a smooth deep climax. “You come for me now.”
Carter’s head snapped back as her orgasm surged beneath Rica’s skilled fingers. She was only vaguely aware of her legs thrashing and her fingers pushing hard into Rica. When she registered Rica’s wild cries of pleasure and felt Rica writhing next to her, she roused herself enough to thrust Rica to a jolting climax.
“Oh God,” Rica sighed. “At last.”
Carter laughed and kissed Rica lightly. “I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me after sex before.”
Rica slapped Carter playfully on the hip. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep that kind of information to yourself.”
Suddenly serious, Carter kissed Rica again. “I know exactly what’s good for me. You.”
“Carter.” Rica stroked Carter’s cheek and brushed her fingers through Carter’s damp hair. “I love you.”
Carter went completely still. She searched Rica’s face and found only certainty. She felt the wariness and distrust that she had carried for years like a tight chain around her heart simply break and fall away. She smiled. “I think that would be a matter of some consequence.”
“Oh, it absolutely is.” Rica caressed Carter’s face, her shoulders, her back, pressing closer until their bodies touched nearly everywhere. “For me.”
“For me too.”
“I’m so glad.”
Carter brushed her thumb over Rica’s chin and kissed her again. “I can’t seem to stop doing that.”
“That’s just fine with me.”
“Are you happy?” Carter asked gravely. Of all the questions she had ever asked, this felt like the most important.
“Oh yes.”
“It’s going to get complicated, because as crazy as it sounds, I’m not good at hiding. Not something like this.”
Rica laughed. “You? The undercover detective who managed to stroll into my father’s study without anyone even noticing?”
“There will be other Enzos, Rica. Other men your father will want to see you with. Men who will believe you should be with them. I’m not going to just stand by and watch them try to take you.”
“That will never happen.” Rica sat up and pulled the sheet up to her waist, turning so that she could face Carter. She wanted Carter to see her as she explained why nothing would ever be the same again. “I told my father I will never have anything to do with his business.”
Carter pushed up against the pillows, but did not bother with the sheet. “Telling him in so many words counts for a lot. But that doesn’t mean he won’t try.”
Rica shook her head. “I also told him that I’m a lesbian, and that I don’t intend to marry any man for any reason.”
“You’ve had a busy week,” Carter said, admiration in her voice. She took Rica’s hand and kissed her palm. “How did he take it?”
“He’s always known, of course, at least since I’ve been an adult. But we’ve never actually brought it out into the open. He tried bargaining, but I think he was convinced when I told him I was in love with you.”
“Me!”
“Did you expect me to say someone else?” Rica asked with an amused smile.
“I thought you might tell me first.” Carter held her hands wide in astonishment. “Jesus. Does he know…oh man, Rica. He’s got to have some idea what I was doing there because he saw me with Rizzo.” Carter frowned. “We’ll just have to make sure that he doesn’t see us together. And we’ll have to be sure that—”
“No,” Rica said flatly. “No more hiding. From him or because of him. He knows I love you, I told him you wouldn’t hurt me, and he accepts that.”
“Why don’t I know any of this? When did you decide you can trust me?” Carter ran both hands through her hair. “Do you know what this last week has been like? I thought I was going to lose my mind thinking I’d never see you again.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” Rica leaned forward and kissed Carter lingeringly. “I know. I needed time to sort it out. I realized after I told you that I didn’t want to see you anymore that we both lied, to ourselves and to each other. I couldn’t not forgive you.” She stroked Carter’s face. “And God, I love you so much.”
Carter pulled Rica into her arms and they settled down again side by side. “He’ll probably find out sooner or later that I used to be a cop.”
“Are you sure you’re not going back?” Rica asked carefully.
“Would it make any difference between us if I did?”
“No,” Rica answered immediately.
“I’m not going back.”
“Because of me?”
Carter started to answer and then paused. “A little bit, yes. But hear me out before you jump to conclusions. Mostly I quit because I didn’t have any kind of a life and sooner or later I’d never be able to. I’d lose myself so deep in the lies that had become my life, I’d never find my way out. And I’m in love with you. And there’s no way I could be a cop and be your lover. They’d be all over me to get information about your father.”
“I’m sorry,” Rica said. “I’m sorry.”
“Why? It’s not your doing or your choice. It’s just the way it is.” Carter snuggled Rica’s head against her shoulder and stroked her hair. “I’m okay with it. In fact, I feel great. I love you, Rica. Jesus. It feels good to say that.”
“It feels wonderful to hear it.” Rica closed her eyes and listened to Carter’s heart beat, quiet and steady. She felt peaceful, as if she had passed through a storm that had raged around her her entire life. “You’re going to have to unpack your car again.”
“I know.” Carter closed her eyes and felt herself drifting. She heard the foghorn on Long Point sounding in the distance and realized she felt at home. With Rica, she was home, and always would be. “I’ll probably have to get a job too.”
“Well, I suppose I could find something for you in the family business,” Rica said absolutely seriously.
Carter opened one eye and cocked an eyebrow.
Rica grinned. “Then again, maybe not.”
“Go to sleep, Ms. Grechi. You’re starting to scare me.”
“Will you be here in the morning?”
&
nbsp; “Absolutely,” Carter murmured, nuzzling Rica’s neck.
“Every morning?”
Carter opened her eyes and met Rica’s, which were wide and unguarded. “I’d like that, if you want.”
“I want very much.”
“Then the answer is yes.”
Epilogue
Tory sat Reggie in the middle of the living room floor with an array of toys and headed to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. She glanced at the clock. 6:55 a.m. Bri would arrive in five minutes. At the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs behind her, she said without turning, “Do you want coffee to take with you?”
“No, I’m fine,” Reese said. “We’ll pick some up someplace on our pass through town.”
Tory turned in time to see Reese snugging the knot in her tie against her crisp khaki collar. She had predicted it would be two weeks before Reese rebelled at the inactivity. She’d been surprised, because it had turned out to be almost three weeks before Reese insisted she felt well enough to at least go in to the station to do paperwork. During those weeks when Reese had been home, Tory had worked abbreviated shifts to spend more time with her. They’d even gone out of town for several short trips to visit Tory’s family.
Tory knew that Reese had tried hard to act as though she was enjoying every minute, and Tory believed that most of the time that was true. But she had seen a distant look come over Reese’s face in their quiet moments, and she imagined that Reese had been thinking about where she had been and those she had left behind. As much as Tory wanted Reese safe at home, healing in body and soul, she knew Reese needed something different. “Remember, you promised me you’d stick to desk duty until I’m satisfied your collarbone is healed.”
“I remember.” Reese kissed Tory’s cheek and stole a sip of coffee from her mug. “I think riding around in the cruiser is pretty much the same as riding a desk.”
“No, it isn’t.” Tory tugged Reese’s tie for emphasis. “If you’re in the cruiser and something happens, you’re not going to just sit there while Bri gets out and handles it alone. You know that.”
Reese sighed. “All right. That’s probably true.”
“Probably?” Tory wrapped her arms around Reese’s shoulders and settled against her. She kissed her chin, then her mouth. “Oh please.”
Reese grinned, then settled her hands on Tory’s behind and squeezed. “Both arms seem to be working pretty well.”
“Mmm. I seem to remember that from last night.”
“You felt so good,” Reese whispered. She nibbled on Tory’s lower lip, then kissed her long and hard, still feeling Tory’s cries of release from hours before echoing in her bones.
“Oh, fu—sorry!” Bri blurted from the doorway.
When Reese broke the kiss and raised her head, Bri had one foot through the door and a look of abject contrition on her face. “It wasn’t locked. I should’ve knocked. I’ll go wait—”
Tory looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Come on in, sweetie. We were just talking.”
Bri glanced once at Reese, then let the door close behind her. She gasped and pointed past them. “Whoa! Catch that.”
Both Reese and Tory followed her gaze, and then Reese bent down and held out her arms to Reggie.
“Come on, champ. Keep coming. That’s it.”
With a look of determination and supreme delight, Reggie tottered across the four feet that separated them and tumbled into Reese’s arms. Laughing, Reese hugged her and stood, holding her tight to her chest. Tory wrapped an arm around them both and held open the other to Bri. After a second’s hesitation, Bri joined the celebration.
“I told you she was waiting for you to come home.” Tory’s eyes were bright with tears.
“Glad I didn’t miss it.” Reese rested her cheek against Reggie’s head and closed her eyes. “Damn glad.”
*
After five minutes of silence in the cruiser, Reese said, “What’s on your mind?”
Bri gripped the wheel so tightly her fingers were white. She stared straight ahead. “Nothing. I was just thinking.”
“Thinking pretty hard.”
“Not making much progress, though.” Bri glanced at Reese and grinned sheepishly.
“Why don’t you try breathing now and then and see what that does for your head.”
“You’d think I’d know that by now. I’m always telling the students in the dojo to do that.”
“Sometimes we forget our own lessons,” Reese said quietly.
Bri continued to drive down Commercial Street as far as the Provincetown Inn, then circled around to Bradford and headed back toward town. “What do you do when someone gives you an order, and you think it’s wrong?”
“A superior officer?”
Bri nodded.
“You follow it, unless you know it to be illegal by whatever law governs the situation. The law of the land, where we’re concerned right now. Military law, where I just was.” Reese heard the distant thunder of war and knew the answers were never really that simple. “What made you think of that?”
“You didn’t want to go, did you?”
“No. I didn’t.”
“But you did.”
“Yes.”
Bri spoke so quietly Reese could barely hear her. “I’m not sure I would have.”
“You would have,” Reese said with certainty, “if you’d sworn to.”
“Sometimes when you were gone, I was mad at you. For leaving.” Bri’s hands had tightened on the wheel again and her voice trembled.
“Head over to Herring Cove,” Reese said. When Bri cut the engine a few minutes later, Reese got out. “Let’s walk.”
They followed the sandy trail between the dunes until they crested the last swell of earth above the beach, then stopped, shoulder to shoulder, bodies just barely touching. Fishermen stood up to their knees in the surf casting for sea bass, here and there people walked with their dogs along the undulating shore, and far out to sea, fishing boats and trawlers skimmed the horizon. In a few more minutes, Tory would put the red kayak in and start toward Race Point.
“Last week,” Reese said, “I left the Corps.”
Bri stared. “For good?”
“Yes.” Reese met Bri’s astonished gaze. “My responsibilities are here now, to Tory and Reggie. To you. To this community.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“One hundred percent.” Reese saw Bri’s body relax, but her expression was still troubled. “And forget about being mad at me while I was gone. I think the job we do is harder on the people we love than on us. Just remember that, when Caroline is giving you a hard time about the job.”
Bri smiled. “She doesn’t. Too much. She’s like Tory that way.”
Reese laughed. “Then she worries plenty.”
“Yeah. She does.” Bri breathed deeply, exhaled slowly. “So we’re okay now?”
“We always were. You ready to go to work?”
“One more thing. Tory asked me to make sure you stick on the desk.” Bri jammed her hands in her pockets. “Except you’re my superior officer, so what’ll I do if you decide not to?”
Reese squeezed Bri’s shoulder. “I have a stop to make before we head to the station. You can drive me there, deliver me back to the station, and then I’ll sit at my desk. I won’t put you in the position of choosing, but if I did, I’d expect you to assess the situation and use your best judgment. And I know you would.”
“Sometimes things aren’t always black and white, are they?”
“No, they’re not,” Reese said quietly. “That’s when you have to go with gut instinct.” She tapped Bri’s chest where her badge rested above her heart. “And what’s in here.”
*
Rica pointed to a blank space on the west wall of the gallery. “Can you hang that up there?”
“Sure,” Carter said, carrying the largest painting that had arrived in the previous day’s delivery.
At the sound of a knock on the front door, Rica called “We�
��re closed,” and turned to point out the sign in the front window that listed the gallery hours. When she saw the figure on the other side of the door, she strode angrily forward, flipped the lock, and yanked the door open. “Look, I’ve had about enough. If you don’t have a warrant, you can—”
“I’m Sheriff Conlon, Ms. Grechi.” Reese spoke quietly as she looked into the gallery and nodded to Carter. “I’d just like to speak to Carter. I saw her car parked out front.”
“I know who you are. And I don’t care what you want.” Rica stood firmly in the doorway. “Carter isn’t going—”
Carter put her hand on Rica’s shoulder. “It’s okay, babe. The sheriff’s a friend of mine.”
Rica turned stormy eyes to Carter. “Well, where was she a week ago when we could’ve used a little official help.” She wrapped an arm around Carter’s waist and angled her body between Reese and Carter. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”
“I can talk to her right here if you’d be more comfortable,” Reese said, trying to read the situation. Rica Grechi was more frightened than angry, that much she could see. “It might be better for everyone if Carter and I take a little walk down the street, though.”
“Better for who?” Rica snapped.
“Reese knows the whole story, Rica. We can trust her.”
Rica searched Carter’s face. “Are you sure?”
Carter nodded and kissed Rica softly. “Positive. I won’t be gone long.”
“Take your phone.” Rica stroked Carter’s cheek. “Call me if there’s any trouble. If you’re not back in thirty minutes, I’m coming after you.”
“I’ll be back before then. Don’t worry.”
Reese waited until the door closed behind them and Carter joined her on the sidewalk before speaking. “Sorry. I didn’t realize it would be a problem for me to stop by the gallery.”
“It wouldn’t be,” Carter said as they turned toward the center of town, “except we’ve had a rough couple of weeks since that business with Lorenzo Brassi.”
“When you called and told me you thought the threat to Ms. Grechi was over, I pulled the patrols off her house and gallery. Was that a mistake?”
