Counting on Love

by R L Burgess

  Reluctantly, Reyna let them back into her room, dropping her purse on the bed. She was immediately aware of how small the room felt.

  “Power point?” Zoe waved her laptop cable glancing around the room for the nearest outlet.

  “There’s one under the desk.” Reyna chose the armchair across the room by the window and sat down. If they were going to stay in her room she needed to put some space between them.

  Zoe busied herself plugging in the laptop and turning it on. “Thanks for having a look at this. I’m really excited to see what you think,” she said as she typed in her password, her back to Reyna. “I’ve broken it up into training modules for each week, so that the facilitator will know what key points to focus on at each session. It’s not finished and I’ve just got a rough sketch, but you’ll get the idea. I’m keen to see if you think it’s enough of a manual for the other offices. Ah, here it is, I saved it in my email when I was working on it from home.”

  Zoe looked over her shoulder. “Do you want to come over here? It’s just the cord won’t reach for me to bring it over to you.” Reyna realised she must look strange, sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room and went to join Zoe at the desk.

  For the next half an hour they looked over her work, discussing the structure of what she had put together.

  “This is really very good, Zoe,” Reyna said, impressed with the calibre of work she was seeing. It seemed no matter what Zoe turned her hand to she could produce star quality work.

  “I mean, it’s just a rough sketch,” Zoe said, “but I think I’m on the right track.”

  “You’re more than on the right track. You’re blazing a whole new trail here. Well done.” Reyna leaned forward. “I especially like this section.” As she pointed to the screen Zoe’s email flashed with the notification of a new message. Jessica Myers. Subject: miss you already.

  “Oh.” Zoe blushed, quickly closing the notification.

  Reyna sat back in her chair, her mind warring with her heart. What did it matter what Jessica sent to Zoe. It’s none of my business. Absolutely none of my business. “You really hit it off with Jessica, huh?” she asked, in spite of herself.

  “What? Um, yeah I guess so. She’s pretty…” Zoe seemed to be searching for the right word. “…fun.”

  “She’s definitely the life of the party.” Reyna pushed back her chair, wondering how to hint to Zoe that their meeting was done. She looked at her watch. “Speaking of parties. You’ll probably want to go and get ready for tonight?”

  “What about the tea?” Zoe said, closing the lid to her laptop slowly.

  “The tea?”

  “You mentioned we might have a cup of tea. Would you still…I mean, shall we?”

  Reyna sighed. Was Zoe intent on torturing her? She just wanted to be by herself now, lick her wounds in private. It was bad enough lusting after one of her employees, but lusting over one of her employees who was dating the inimitable Jessica Myers? That was just life slapping her in the face.

  “I could make it?” Zoe said, looking a question at Reyna.

  “If you like.” Reyna sat on the edge of the bed, kicking herself for not being firmer. Zoe found the kettle and filled it in the bathroom.

  “Do you want Earl Grey, English Breakfast, or peppermint?” Zoe asked, flicking through the box of teas supplied by the hotel.

  “I’ll take the peppermint.”

  “Me too. Shall we share a bag?”

  Reyna nodded. “Fine by me.”

  When the kettle clicked off, Zoe poured the steaming water into the mugs and dunked the bag a few times in each, tossing it expertly into the bin under the desk.

  “Good shot,” Reyna murmured.

  “I’m not just an extreme sports sadist.” She handed her a mug and gave her a lopsided smile. “I played basketball at uni for a bit. Cheers.” She clinked her mug against Reyna’s, sitting down next to her on the bed.

  “So basketball, running, bike riding, and what else? Is there a sport you don’t like?” Reyna said, searching for a neutral topic. Anything to take her mind off the fact that Zoe’s thigh was inches away from her own. Jessica Myers. She’s into Jessica. This is just work stuff.

  “Golf,” Zoe replied promptly. “I hate golf. I can’t see the point of trying to get the world’s tiniest ball into a hole a hundred miles away. Seems stupid to me.”

  Reyna laughed. “I’d never thought of it like that, not that I’ve really given golf much thought.”

  “I didn’t sleep with Jessica, just so you know,” Zoe blurted out suddenly, staring down at her tea.

  Reyna started, her tea jolting dangerously in the mug. “Zoe, you don’t have to tell me. It’s absolutely none of my business what you do with your personal life.” She took a sip of her scalding tea, attempting to quash the hope that was trying to get lift off inside her.

  “I know. It’s just…I didn’t want you to think I came here just to muck about. I’ve taken this conference seriously and I’ve tried to make the most of every opportunity. And the stuff with Jessica…I don’t know exactly what happened there.”

  “You certainly made the most of that opportunity,” Reyna said, aware that her sarcasm sounded churlish.

  “But that’s just it,” Zoe exclaimed. “I didn’t.” She stood and paced. “I didn’t seek out Jessica and I have tried not to lead her on. For some reason she’s taken a shine to me, but I don’t feel the same way.”

  “You don’t?”

  “Not really, no.” Zoe stopped pacing, looking helplessly at Reyna.

  “Why not?” Reyna asked, her voice quiet.

  “Because.” Zoe took a step toward her. “Because all I can think about is you.”

  They gazed at each other, the air between them static with desire.

  The Rule, Reyna. Don’t forget The Rule. No complications with her employees. Feeling like she was floating above herself, Reyna stood, carefully placing her tea on the desk. She took Zoe’s mug from her and placed it on the desk next to her own.

  “I’m sorry,” Zoe began, “I’ll leave—”

  Reyna took Zoe’s hand in her own, interlacing their fingers, and Zoe stepped forward uncertainly. Reyna ran a thumb over Zoe’s palm, her chest barely containing her breath.

  “I want you too,” she said simply, leaning in and claiming Zoe’s mouth with her own.

  Reyna was shocked by the intensity, the rush she felt as Zoe’s thigh pressed between her legs, hands running the length of her spine. Heat razed through her body and she moaned, cupping her hands under Zoe’s buttocks and pulling her in closer.

  Zoe’s mouth broke away from hers, kissing a trail down Reyna’s neck, taking her earlobe into her mouth, sending shivers of delight across Reyna’s skin.

  “I want you so badly,” Zoe murmured, kissing the line of skin under the collar of Reyna’s shirt, tugging at the buttons, which popped open at her insistence. “Oh god. You are so beautiful.” Her fingertips grazed the exposed skin, raising goosebumps on Reyna’s chest. Zoe pushed the shirt from Reyna’s shoulders and eased her bra off, letting it slip to the floor.

  Reyna’s breath caught, legs weak as Zoe dipped her head and covered her nipple, her mouth hot as her tongue flicked over the sensitive flesh. Reyna moaned again, calling Zoe’s name.

  “Is it okay?” Zoe asked, her mouth trailing kisses over to the other nipple. Reyna’s knees buckled and Zoe caught her, arms around her waist.

  “The bed,” Reyna said urgently, tugging Zoe’s shirt over her head.

  They sank into the large bed, Zoe’s hands in Reyna’s hair, loosening it from the knot at her neck. Reyna traced Zoe’s nipples, grazing the palm of her hand over the puckered skin. Zoe groaned, straddling Reyna’s thigh, her jean shorts rough against Reyna’s thin leggings. Reyna popped the button on Zoe’s shorts and slid them down, her hand finding the heat between Zoe’s legs, palm flat against the wet. Zoe pushed against her, crying out as Reyna slid her finger inside her, their mouths colliding for an urgent kiss
.

  Zoe rocked against Reyna’s hand as she slid in and out of her slowly, the tension between them building unbearably. Zoe arched her back, her eyes closed, breasts straining forward. Reyna covered her nipple with her mouth, thinking she would explode as the desperate heat threatened to push her over the edge.

  “I want to feel you too,” Zoe whispered thickly, her pupils dilated as she looked into Reyna’s eyes. Her hand reached down, pushing aside Reyna’s leggings, the cool of her touch finding Reyna’s throbbing, slick clitoris, running the length of it with the same rhythm Reyna was using inside her.

  Reyna gasped, her hips rocking against Zoe’s hand. They moved faster, sliding, stroking, bucking, mouths open to each other as their breathing became ragged, short, shallow.

  “You’re going to make me come,” Reyna cried, burying her head in Zoe’s shoulder as a wave of orgasm curled up from her toes and crashed over her body. At the same time Zoe clenched her hand, her eyes closed as she moaned, whispering Reyna’s name over and over into her hair.

  They fell against each other, Reyna’s heart beating wildly in her chest as she tried to find her breath.

  “Don’t move,” Zoe said. “Please don’t move. I just want to hold you like this for a moment.”

  They lay against each other, intertwined in the sheets as their bodies stilled.

  Shit, Reyna thought. So much for The Rule. She was really in trouble now. Zoe shifted in her arms, pulling the soft hotel sheet up over their exposed bodies as the sweat dried on their cooling skin. She wrapped an arm lazily around Reyna’s waist and murmured into her ear.

  “That was unexpected.”

  “You could say that,” Reyna replied. Her inner voice berated her loudly. What on earth had she done. Her lack of control had just signed her up for a whole pile of awkwardness and pain at work. And not just her, Zoe as well. She had reneged on her responsibility to Zoe. As the boss, she should have been protecting Zoe from exactly this kind of behaviour from her superiors. Instead she had engaged in it herself.

  Zoe’s nipple grazed her own as Zoe shifted in her arms, igniting a spark that shot through the length of her body. She supressed a groan, wondering how to extricate herself from this exquisite nightmare. Zoe’s hand traced a distracting path along her belly, causing a tightening in Reyna’s abdomen. Her fingers delved lower, exploring the soft patch of hair between Reyna’s legs, gently stroking the line of her pubic hair.

  “Zoe I—” Reyna said brokenly, and then cried out as Zoe slid her fingers back into her wetness, filling her from the inside. Her hips bucked beneath Zoe’s touch, responding of their own volition to the mounting pressure as Zoe’s fingers rocked insistently inside her.

  “I shouldn’t—”

  “Yes, you should,” Zoe said, finding her mouth, her tongue sliding lightly against Reyna’s with the same rhythm as her fingers.

  Reyna knew resistance was useless as pleasure streaked through her body, her hips arching wildly as she climaxed, shuddering with aftershocks of pleasure as Zoe’s mouth found her nipple.

  Reyna sank back against the pillow, her breath ragged.

  “You are so entirely beautiful,” Zoe whispered, tracing the line of Reyna’s jaw. Reyna studied the face before her, taking in the clear, bright eyes, the smooth, velvet skin, the enticing mouth turned toward her. Her chest ached, heavy with words she knew she couldn’t speak.

  “We should get up. You’ll miss the party,” Reyna said quietly, gently smoothing the hair away from Zoe’s brow.

  “I don’t want to go to the party.”

  “It’s your last night here. You’ll regret it if you miss it.”

  “I’m exactly where I want to be thank you.”

  Reyna sighed, turning away to look up at the ceiling. An intricate pattern of rosettes had been carved in to the corners and she wondered stupidly why anyone would bother to go to so much trouble over a space where people seldom looked. She wanted Zoe to stay. She wanted to lie there, wrapped in her long, strong arms until daybreak. And then she would order breakfast and they could eat it on the bed, cossetted in the thick hotel robes, feeding each other morsels of fruit and drinking coffee. They would take a long hot shower (sorry Alice Springs water supply) and fall back into bed for one last heady moment before they dashed to the airport to get on the plane home. Home. Holden. Her reality hit her like an unexpected punch in the solar plexus and she sat up carefully, extricating herself from their embrace. She had made a commitment to Holden. One week away and she was already forgetting her responsibilities. Some parent she was.

  “I’ve done you a disservice, Zoe,” Reyna began, her voice sounding hollow to her own ears. A cold heavy stone seemed to have lodged itself in her chest, making it difficult to speak. “I should not have allowed this to happen. It was a mistake.”

  Zoe sat up beside her, pulling the bedsheet up to cover her exposed breasts. “Please don’t say that. How could this…” She tipped Reyna’s chin toward her and kissed her, their mouths hungry against each other. “…have been a mistake?” she finished, breathless as they broke off the kiss.

  Reyna shook her head, mute with confusion.

  “I just…oh god. Zoe, there are so many reasons this is wrong. I’m your boss, for one.”

  “It’s not illegal.”

  “Yes, but it’s not right. It’s unethical of me to behave like this. Sleeping with you, well, it could damage your reputation, make it harder for you to get a promotion in the future, cause jealousy amongst your peers, distrust amongst management, the list goes on. There’s a good reason these kinds of things are discouraged. Can you imagine what it would be like if people found out we had—”

  “Surely we can work this out. If two consenting adults want to pursue a relationship it can’t possibly matter if there’s a work connection.”

  “But that’s just it.” Reyna forced herself to speak the words. “I don’t want to pursue a relationship.”

  “You don’t?” The hurt in Zoe’s voice was palpable.

  Reyna stared straight ahead, determined not to waver. “I don’t. I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s just not possible for me. I have other commitments that preclude me from getting involved in anything else right now.”

  “Other commitments?”

  “My nephew, Holden. I need to be available for him. I just don’t have time to get involved with anything else.” Reyna knew she sounded cold but it was for the best. “Look, why don’t I have a shower while you gather your things.”

  Zoe was silent for a moment, her eyes turned away as she stared in front of her. And then she slipped out of the bed and retrieved her discarded clothing, putting it back on quickly. Reyna watched her from under heavy eyelids, biting her lip to keep from calling her back to the bed, back into her arms, back to the space where she could kiss away the pain etched on her face. She wanted to tell her she was so beautiful it hurt her chest. She wanted to speak words her heart hadn’t served up in forever. She wanted to tell her, “Don’t go. Stay here. Let’s work it out.” But she stayed silent, her lips sealed.

  Fully clothed, Zoe unplugged her laptop, winding the cord carefully around the computer and hugged it to her chest.

  “See you back in Melbourne then,” she said finally.

  Reyna met her eyes, startled to find them blank and unreadable.

  “I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you, Zoe,” she said, but Zoe didn’t reply, letting herself out of the room with a quiet click of the door.

  Damn it. Reyna balled her fists, feeling her nails bite into her palms. Her eyes welled, threatening to spill over. She looked around the room, through the blur of unshed tears. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zoe (Saturday, two weeks later)

  Thank god for spring, Zoe thought as she picked her way carefully down a slippery forest ravine, hearing Mel swear emphatically from in front on the trail. The weather was perfect. The sky was endless, not a cloud in sight, and a small
breeze was cooling the back of her neck.

  “You okay?” Zoe called without taking her eyes off the uneven ground. One misplaced step easily could send her tumbling down the steep incline in a blur of arms and legs.

  “Yes. Stupid backpack is making me top heavy,” Mel complained.

  “Aren’t you already top heavy?” Enid sang out with a giggle and then broke off abruptly as Mel allowed a small tree branch to slap its leaves back into her. “Oi!”

  “Don’t taunt me while I’m doing this, Enid,” Mel growled. “How much farther is it anyway? Do you think we’re still in the lead?”

  Chiara, at the head of the group, stopped suddenly causing them all to bump up behind her. “I need to check the map again. I think we were supposed to head around the hill when we got to about halfway down.”

  “Do you think this is halfway then?” asked Travis, his face dubious. “How can you tell halfway unless you’re at the top or the bottom?”

  “I’ve been counting the kilometres,” Chiara reassured him. “This should be it. I actually think there’s a little trail here.” She pulled out the map and they gathered around, watching as she lined up her compass with the trail they were on and measured out the distance they had come.

  “If my calculations are right…”

  “And we very much hope they are,” Mel groaned.

  “Of course they’re right,” Enid said. “When has Chiara ever gone wrong?”

  “I’d hate for this to be the first time. I don’t want to be stuck out here getting eaten by bears tonight.”

  “Do we have bears in Australia?” Travis asked.

  “We have Koala bears.”

  “Yeah, but they just eat leaves and stuff.”

  “Who knows what they do at night. Have you heard the way they growl?”

  “Zip it, Mel,” Zoe instructed. “Chiara, you were saying?”

  “Look, this is where the trail should be.” Her finger traced a line on the map. “And that should lead us to the final flag. From there we just have to make it back to base. I think most people will try to cut straight across the valley, but look at how steep those inclines are.” They all examined the tightly bunched, wavy, blue contour lines on the map.