Death in Time

by Robyn Nyx

  I hadn’t thought of that. “She will. The only thing Delaney wasn’t honest about was her job. When Ilsa finds out why Delaney was really there, she’ll fall into her arms, and it’ll be a fairy tale happy ending…I hope.” Landry faced Jade and wrapped her hand around the back of Jade’s neck. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” Jade smiled and took Landry’s face in her hands. “You’re upset because you’ll never see her again?”

  Landry bit her lip. That was exactly it. She couldn’t be mad at Delaney for wanting what she had and doing whatever was necessary to make it happen. Landry had done exactly the same when Jade was injured and on the verge of dying. She’d thought of no one but Jade…and herself. She hadn’t wanted to face the thought of being without Jade, and Delaney had met a similar challenge. Delaney couldn’t consider Landry in the equation because she knew there was no way of keeping both of them in her life. Delaney chose love over friendship, and she was lost forever to Landry. The pounding in her chest had a name. Grief.

  She pulled Jade closer and kissed her, desperate to connect and feel loved, cherished. Jade responded and Landry felt the rush of her love wash over her like a warm ocean wave. Grieving Delaney morphed into a need for intimacy with Jade, and she kissed her deeper and harder, almost frantic for an equally impassioned response. She felt the hot threat of tears lurk behind her eyes and tried to blink them away. But they escaped, and when Jade saw them, she tenderly wiped them away.

  “Are you sure you want to do this now?” Jade asked, a clear concern laced her question.

  Landry nodded, pressed her lips to Jade, and murmured. “Please. I need to make love to you.”

  “Let’s go to the bedroom…” Jade stood and offered her hand.

  Landry swallowed, realizing that if she took Jade’s hand now, it was a promise for an honest attempt at a future together. Jade wouldn’t know that, but it was all becoming crystal clear for Landry. She wanted this. She wanted Jade—needed her, even. Landry wasn’t used to needing anything, let alone another human being. But her depth of love for Jade was no longer a question.

  Landry clasped Jade’s hand and allowed her to lead the way to her bedroom. Once inside, Jade pulled Landry’s shirt from her jeans and slowly unbuttoned it from top to bottom. She opened it and placed light kisses on Landry’s chest and neck as she opened her belt and jeans. Jade pushed Landry’s shirt over her shoulders and gently tugged it over her forearms, before letting it drop to the floor. She slipped her fingers beneath the band on Landry’s bralette and pulled it up and over her head.

  Landry felt weightless and out of control, but she had no desire to feel otherwise. As Jade continued until Landry was completely naked, she embraced her vulnerability, something that would usually cause her to take the initiative, the zone where she was usually at home and comfortable. Pretense wasn’t necessary. The mask Landry had always worn for sex was superfluous.

  She sank to the bed and lay down, propped up on an elbow to watch Jade quickly shed her satin robe and nightwear. Landry shook her head slowly. “You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

  She expected a casually mocking response to her clichéd statement, but Jade simply smiled.

  “You are,” she whispered as she lay beside Landry.

  For a brief moment, Landry allowed herself the luxury of taking in every curve of Jade’s body. “Do you remember what you said to me the first time we made love?”

  “On the pool table when you thought this might just be sex?” Jade placed her hand on Landry’s chest, over her heart.

  “Yeah. Do you remember?” Landry took Jade’s hand and kissed her knuckles.

  Jade smiled. “I said a few things that day. I remember saying something along the lines of ‘fuck me like it’s the first and last time.’ Why?” Jade’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

  “That’s the one.” Landry laced her fingers with Jade’s and moved closer. “Do you remember what I answered?”

  “Remind me.” Jade uncoupled her hand, hooked her leg over Landry’s waist, and straddled her.

  The heat stirred Landry’s baser desires, and she raised her hips to meet Jade’s insistence. But this was about more than just sex for Landry now. It always had been. “I said ‘it can never be the last time.’”

  Jade leaned down and her breasts pushed against Landry’s chest. She pinched Landry’s nipple firmly. “Have you changed your mind?”

  Landry licked her lips and sighed, her level of arousal rising with every touch of Jade’s fingers and body. “No.” She put her hands on Jade’s waist, forcing herself to grip lightly. She was finding it hard to control the intensity of her feelings for Jade that made her want to squeeze Jade so tightly to her that they might meld into one. “God, woman, if you knew what I was thinking.”

  Jade traced her tongue over Landry’s lips, kissed away the salt tracks of her recent tears, and lingered on Landry’s mouth.

  “Share.”

  Landry shook her head. “I’m not quite ready to completely show you my soft underbelly.”

  Jade smiled as if she understood that the level of intimacy they were sharing now compared to how Landry usually acted, was like comparing the Freedom Tower to an igloo.

  “I’ll wait.”

  Landry’s insides softened like a marshmallow on a campfire. She didn’t need to lay herself open for Jade to prod around in her heart and examine the depth of Landry’s feelings for Jade to be secure. She’d shown Jade enough to know that this was for real. Landry took Jade’s hand and guided it along her stomach and between her legs. She dropped her head back into the pillow when Jade slowly pressed two fingers inside her. Landry wrapped her hand in Jade’s hair and pulled her down so that they could kiss. She needed to taste her, to show her how much she needed her.

  Jade moved to Landry’s side and pushed deeper inside her. Landry released Jade’s hair and entwined their fingers together. She looked deep into Jade’s eyes and felt herself floating in their deep azure sea. Jade kept the steady rhythm that would bring Landry to the edge and didn’t break her gaze.

  “You’re mine,” she whispered.

  Landry closed her eyes and allowed her body and mind to be totally possessed. She concentrated only on what Jade was making her feel, and when she opened her eyes again, Jade was simply watching her, as if Landry were the most captivating person on the planet. “What?”

  “You’re letting me really see you.”

  Landry swallowed, and though the urge to flight tugged at her heart briefly, she relaxed into Jade’s stroke and centered on the rising throb in her pussy. She allowed herself the freedom to return to focus on the core of Jade’s being until she reached the edge of her orgasm. Landry closed her eyes and let go, of her body, of her mind, of her heart.

  Jade gently stroked along Landry’s stomach and smiled each time Landry shuddered at her touch, sending mini shots of pleasure coursing around her body.

  Jade snuggled Landry into her arms. “I’ve got you, baby.”

  Landry looked up. Be honest. “You’ve got me every day for the next month if you want me.”

  Jade pressed her finger to Landry’s lips. “I want you every day for the rest of your life.”

  Landry smiled and glanced down for a moment before looking back at Jade. “No matter what?”

  “I should ask you that question. Aren’t you worried about being weaker on missions because of me anymore?”

  Landry shook her head and nestled into Jade still closer. “No, baby. You make me stronger. Now that I’ve got something to lose, I’ve got even more to live for.”

  Epilogue

  Landry stretched sleepily then pulled the juice carton from the fridge. She turned to the counter for a glass and saw the phone-sized box, sealed and addressed to her.

  “Why would someone send me—” She stopped herself and smiled. “Delaney.”

  Landry tore open the packaging to find the PRU she’d given Delaney a mere ten hours a
go.

  Jade came up behind her and kissed her shoulder before pouring herself a glass of juice. “That was there yesterday. Juliet took delivery of it in the afternoon while we were at the restaurant.”

  Landry was glad Jade’s cleaner had been in. The PRU was in one piece, and the less time it had to wait to be back in Landry’s possession, the better.

  “Not that I mind you being forward, but have you changed your address for all your mail or just this package?”

  Landry smiled. “It’s from Delaney. She knew I’d be here.”

  Jade raised her eyebrow. “Ooh, a package from the past. How exciting. What did she send you?”

  Landry lifted the PRU out of the box and carefully laid it on the packaging. She pulled out and unsealed the envelope with her name on it. Inside was a photo of Delaney and Ilsa in relatively modern clothes, with red, white, and blue ticker tape showering them. There was a look of pure love and contentment in Delaney’s eyes that Landry had never seen before. Ilsa was looking at Delaney adoringly. Delaney held a newspaper. “July 4th, 2010.” She unfolded the short handwritten note and quickly scanned it. She smiled and kissed Jade. “She did okay.”

  “What’d she say?”

  Landry shrugged and grinned. “She didn’t need to say a lot. It just says ‘She’s my oxygen, and she gets me.’ They made it.”

  Landry wrapped her arms around Jade’s waist, kissed the top of her head, and smiled. I’ve got my oxygen, too.

  About the Author

  Robyn Nyx is an avid shutterbug and lover of all things fast and physical. Her writing often reflects both of those passions. She writes lesbian fiction when she isn’t busy being the chief executive of a UK charity. She lives with her wife and fellow scribe, Brey Willows. They have no kids or kittens, which allows them to travel to exotic places at the drop of a hat for research. Robyn and Brey also run a community interest company helping marginalized groups to write and get their stories heard. She works hard to find writing time, when she’s not being distracted by blue skies and motorbike rides.

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