He paused. “I’m sorry, what?”
Rebecca chuckled and waved her hand nonchalantly. “It’s a cultural thing, I think.”
“Okay, if you say so.”
A loud, shrieking meow made Rebecca jump.
A second later, Peyton launched herself off the floor and onto Mark’s pant leg. He yelped in surprise. “What the fuck!”
So much for him watching his language. Rebecca had to bite the inside of her cheek to hold in her laughter. “I’m so sorry.” She had to pull Peyton from Mark’s leg. Thanks to her claws, she was stuck on like Velcro. “Did she get skin?”
Peyton scampered away.
He chuckled and craned his head, looking around nervously. “I don’t think so. God, she scared me.”
“I see that. I guess they really do love you.” Rebecca’s tone was dripping with sarcasm.
“Yeah, but if they love me like that, I’m gonna have to put them on the scary-as-hell list, right next to clowns.”
Rebecca pressed her lips together to keep her laughter at bay once more.
“Go ahead.” Mark sighed. “Let’s hear it.”
She laughed. “You do know clowns make people happy? Right?” Rebecca opened the front door for him.
“They’re terrifying, and no one can tell me different.” He shrugged then shivered.
“Uh-huh. And on that note, I’ll see you in the morning.”
Mark stopped at the screen door and glanced over his shoulder. “Shit, I don’t know. I may need that beer now.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Get outta my house.”
He smiled. “Have a good one. Oh, looks like you have company.”
She must not have heard him correctly. Rick was working late. Confusion set in and then it transformed into something else completely as she recognized the car parked on the other side of her driveway and the occupant getting out. Rebecca wasn’t sure what she felt. Relief, anticipation, hope, or resignation. She settled on a nauseating combination of them all, and her predicament wasn’t helped by the look on Dani’s face. Like that first night she’d visited, her expression was frozen in determination and her eyes transmitting anger and resentment.
Mark touched her arm, making Rebecca tense up even more. “You okay?” She glanced at him, and he looked back at her with curiosity and concern.
Rebecca turned away. “Uh, yeah. You’d better go.”
Mark didn’t respond.
Dani slammed her car door and walked toward her quickly. She was in scrubs, and her hair was loose and messy, like she had been raking her hands through it.
Their eyes met.
Yes, Dani looked the same, but there was something different. It wasn’t until Dani got closer that Rebecca could feel it—an electricity in the air around them. She swallowed and looked toward the street. It was empty. When had Mark left?
“We need to talk.” Dani stopped in front of her, but within arm’s length.
She was only a few inches taller than Rebecca, but at the moment, it seemed like a foot. Rebecca didn’t like that feeling at all.
“If you came here to fight, we could’ve done it over the phone. The minute you started up, you woulda been talkin’ to dead air, but still…”
Dani’s hands fisted at her side. “Why did you have to come back?”
It wasn’t just the death of her great aunt that brought her back. So much more was involved. Rebecca sighed. “I had to.”
“Well, I’m so glad it’s working for you, but I’m a goddamn mess!” Dani’s eyes were wild and her face red. “That man, the one who left, does he know what you do to people?”
Rebecca bristled. “What in the black hell are you talkin’ about? He’s my partner!”
Dani sputtered and tripped over her words. “Okay… Well—”
“And don’t come here expectin’ me to take responsibility for all the crap in your life in the past four years.” Rebecca threw her hands up. “I told you I’m not fightin’ with you. If you wanna talk, come inside. I’m not doin’ this in my front yard.” She grabbed Dani’s arm. “C’mon.”
Snatching her arm away, Dani’s eyes went wide and she gasped for breath.
Rebecca’s fingertips tingled as a surge of awareness seeped over her. She looked down at her hand and made a fist. Then she glanced back up at Dani. “I’m not stupid. I know why you’re here. At the beginnin’, I kinda asked myself the same question that’s probably tearin’ you up. How can I still want someone who hurt me?” Rebecca moved closer. “You just do. That’s the only answer I’ve been able to come up with.” God, it felt good to get at least part of that out. Rebecca was sure at this point that she was far from over Dani, but she kept the last piece to herself for now, fearing it would be too much.
Dani stepped back, but she didn’t run or turn away. She crossed her arms over her chest. Seconds later, she stomped toward the house.
Rebecca gave her time before following. When she got to the living room, Dani was pacing in front of the couch. Peyton lay on the loveseat, watching her warily.
Rebecca sat down and waited for the denials and the vitriol.
“I had everything just the way I needed it to be.” Dani stopped and looked down at her. “According to you, my career came first, so I made damn sure you were right. You show up, and I’m so…fucking angry all the time.”
Rebecca huffed and leaned forward. “I’m not gonna let you blame me. I left you, but you had a hand in that.”
Dani started pacing again.
“And don’t you think maybe you’ve been angry all along but it wasn’t until you concentrated on real life that you started to feel it?”
“Are you kidding me? Are you the mistress of feelings now?” Dani asked.
“I never said that.”
“You might as well.”
Rebecca covered her face with her hands then dropped them. “We’re not two years old. We can have a normal conversation. We used to have them all the time. There was a time when you were the only person I wanted to talk to, and I remember when we didn’t need to talk at all.”
They stared at each other. Rebecca saw something come to life in Dani’s eyes as they darkened. The fire growing between them generated enough smoke to make it hard to breathe. Dani’s chest heaved as if she’d been running, and Rebecca decided to not even try to inhale. What was the point?
“Stop it! Shut up!” Dani closed the distance between them. Her face was still just as flushed, and she seemed to be shaking.
Dani towered over Rebecca, but she didn’t feel threatened or slighted. Rebecca was awake and alive. Something was happening here. She had no idea what it was, but it was still happening. Rebecca had a choice to either pull back and leave them dangling over some weird precipice or push forward closer to the other side.
“You’re not even gonna try denyin’ to my face everythin’ that you’re feelin’?”
Dani made a sound of sheer frustration. It was somewhere between a groan and a growl.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” Rebecca said softly. Her sudden change in tactic left her wide open and vulnerable to attack, and it would be completely one-sided.
“Stop. Just…stop.” Dani’s brow furrowed, and her lips trembled.
Rebecca looked up at her, seeing Dani’s confusion and fear as plain as day. “No, I can’t—”
Lacing a hand through Rebecca’s hair, Dani grabbed a handful and pulled back sharply. She crawled on top of her, crushing their lips together.
Rebecca gasped in surprise, then moaned as Dani’s tongue slid over hers. Everything around her flashed white then red as a stunning arousal overtook her. There was no gentleness.
Dani kissed her like she was pissed, all hard and heavy like she wanted to leave something behind. Dani kissed her like she was afraid, leaning, then crashing into her as if she needed to be inside and
away from her own demons. Most of all, Dani kissed her like she was starving. She whimpered every time their tongues brushed and kept going back for more.
Rebecca opened wide and met her stroke for stroke. She was hungry too, and just as afraid. She wrapped her arms around Dani, sealing their connection, and tried to pull her hips down.
Resisting, Dani knelt in front of her instead, tearing them apart and pushing Rebecca’s legs open in the process. Rebecca’s chest burned, but she put breathing aside to enjoy the sight before her.
Dani’s hair was loose, shaggy, and wild. Her dark eyes peered back at Rebecca with pupils blown wide. Her lips were swollen and wet. Her mouth opened, but she didn’t say a word. The moment stretched and pulled taut between them, and it seemed to last forever. Eternity ended a few seconds later, as Dani clawed and tugged at Rebecca’s pants.
The urgency made Rebecca moan and scattered her thoughts. She lifted her hips as Dani moved back and yanked her pants down her thighs, dragging Rebecca’s underwear too. She had no idea where they ended up, just that she was free of them.
Suddenly, everything stopped.
Dani stared between Rebecca’s legs. Her gaze was intense enough to be a touch. Rebecca widened and thrusted toward her. Firmly, Dani pressed her hands against the inside of Rebecca’s thighs, opening her even more. Without warning, Dani bent forward and licked into her greedily.
Rebecca cried out.
Dani moaned.
The swipe of Dani’s tongue against Rebecca’s sex mirrored the anger, the fear, and the hunger of her kisses. She was relentless. Each flick was heavy, deliberate, and designed to pull Rebecca completely from herself. She rolled her hips, arching them forward hard to meet Dani’s tongue. But when Dani slipped inside her, Rebecca lost it. “Oh Jesus, fuck!”
Dani’s mouth had always been deadly in more ways than one.
Rebecca grabbed hold of Dani’s head with both hands and fucked her face, pressing Dani’s tongue deeper with each pass.
When Rebecca shattered, she did it with Dani’s name on her lips.
After abruptly jerking away from her, Dani crawled into Rebecca’s lap.
Rebecca whimpered in protest, needing just a few more seconds to enjoy her orgasm. She tried to wrap her arms around Dani, but her affection was swatted away. Rebecca frowned and was a moment from voicing her indignation when Dani leaned back. She drew Rebecca’s gaze downward, where she watched in utter fascination as Dani’s hand disappeared inside the pants of her scrubs.
Dani’s groan was dirty, raspy, and loud.
Rebecca’s sex clenched in empathy. “Let me…” She reached for Dani again, but Dani slapped her away with her free hand. Moments later, Rebecca was more mesmerized by Dani’s undulating hips and what she couldn’t see. Dani’s eyes were closed with her head thrown back and mouth open.
Rebecca’s hips arched upward of their own volition. She was more turned on than she had been just a few minutes before. Unable to help herself, she eased her own fingers between her legs and rubbed her clit in tight, hard circles. Dani’s emphatic gasp made Rebecca look up. Their gazes locked.
Dani cried out, “Fuck!” She trembled. Her hips jerked and bucked. “Uhhh, fuck.”
This time, Rebecca didn’t just shatter. She was ripped apart.
Minutes passed, but Rebecca continued to lay there sprawled against the couch with Dani on top of her. She didn’t want to move, but she did anyway, tilting her head to the side.
Peyton came into view, still sitting on the loveseat a few feet away. Her glare, complete with ears pasted to her head, could only be described as murderous.
Rebecca snorted. The snort turned into a laugh.
Dani stirred. She pushed hair away from her face. For a second, her expression was clearly satisfied, and then her eyes widened as what looked like fear seeped in. She jumped up and covered her mouth with a hand as she peered down at Rebecca. Her hand shook just as her whole body had done a few minutes ago. Dani turned and ran for the door, and didn’t look back.
Chapter 14
Talk to me. I kno u want 2.
Dani shoved her cell phone back into the pocket of her scrubs and vehemently pressed the up button on the elevator panel even though it was already illuminated thanks to one of the two people standing beside her.
Whenever her phone beeped or vibrated, she couldn’t stop herself from reading the texts, despite the fact Dani knew who they were from. Even after two days, every message Becca sent still made it harder to breathe, and the voice mails caused her chest to hurt, literally.
Her body heated from the inside out with recent memories. It shook her. The need, the desperation, that took hold of her with Becca. It was like everything raw inside her pushed itself to the forefront.
Dani closed her eyes and tried to center herself, but when she did, images flashed past. She moved to the side, not wanting anyone to notice that she was trembling. She took a couple of deep breaths and successfully calmed down. There was no point, no way to deny that Becca still affected her, but she couldn’t be a slave to it.
She couldn’t.
No matter how good it felt.
Leaving Becca half naked and sprawled on the couch had been impulsive and no doubt hurtful, but she’d had to get out of there because she wasn’t at all sure what she would have done next. The way she left should have been enough to end the strange dance they’d been engaged in. Judging by the barrage of phone calls and texts, it hadn’t, so she’d decided on another tactic—avoidance.
Dani had been hurt enough, and she had no intention of getting caught in another endless cycle of pain, no matter how much Becca had changed. Fear overpowered everything else, and being torn apart by the same woman twice didn’t seem at all conducive to her sanity.
That one encounter was enough to satiate her need for Becca. It had to be, and given some time and space, the rest of Dani would fall in line. Putting aside her current reaction, Dani tried her best to convince herself that she’d gained a modicum of control. The fact that she could get past her current confusing emotions with deep breathing helped tremendously.
By the time the elevator came, Dani felt almost normal again. The group around her had gotten larger. Dani stepped in and moved to the right, as close to the controls as she could get. The button to her floor had already been pushed. She spotted Sandra. Dani raised her hand to wave and accompanied the gesture with a smile.
Sandra nodded and looked away.
Her response was warranted, but Dani had apologized, and beyond that, she really didn’t know what else to do to make amends. Maybe Sandra needed time. Dani wasn’t sure since she didn’t know her that well. Maybe that was part of the problem? There was nothing she could do about that. Correction: there was nothing she wanted to do about that.
Dani glanced up as the elevator dinged for yet another floor. People got off, including Sandra, and people got on. Three more stops until she got to Peds.
Some time later, Dani rounded the corner near Jacob’s room. She paused. Sheri stood outside her son’s room on the phone. Slowly, Dani moved closer, not wanting to interrupt or intrude, but curiosity got the better of her.
Sheri’s features were pinched, and the hand she moved in animated fashion was fisted. “It’s cancer, and unfortunately it takes more than a month to treat it.” However, except for the slight sarcasm, Sheri’s voice tone was modulated and almost pleasant.
Sheri glanced up and caught Dani’s gaze, but she didn’t wave her away. “Yes, I’ll be sure to keep you posted.” She hung up by stabbing at her phone and turned to Dani. “That was my boss.”
“Oh, I wasn’t trying to intrude. I didn’t know you—”
“Didn’t know what? That I worked? You know all people of color aren’t on Medicaid.”
Dani held up a hand. “No, that never crossed my mind.”
Sheri sighed loudly. “Look,
I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that. I’m out on FMLA, and he had the nerve to ask me if Jacob got better sooner whether I’d be back before the twelve weeks were up.”
“Oh, he’s a bit of a douche.” Dani cringed in empathy.
“A bit? Try a whole aisle’s worth.”
Sensing Sheri’s need to talk, Dani pushed further. “What do you do?”
“I’m an associate retail project manager for Paulson’s Retail Solutions.”
“Oh, nice.”
Sheri flashed a grin, but her eyes were sad. “I should be in my boss’s position. He has no idea what he’s doing. I’ve been making him look good for a long time despite the fancy college he went to.” She sucked in a breath and exhaled shakily. “All the hours that I put in…but the fact he got the promotion didn’t matter after Bryan died.”
“What are you gonna do when FMLA runs out?” Instead of focusing on her husband’s death, Dani concentrated on the more immediate concern.
“I’m not worried about it.” Sheri shrugged. “Tom is incompetent, and if they do try to fire me after twelve weeks, I’m pretty confident anybody they hire will run out screaming. They’ll beg me to come back. I’ll be able to write my own ticket or move on to something better.”
“Well played.”
Sheri nodded. “I think so. Sometimes I think he tries his best to make me go all angry black woman, but I don’t. I’m not the type to mince words, but I know how to be professional. Anyway, I didn’t mean to pull you into this.”
“It’s okay.” Dani waved away her concern. “But I do have an update for you. The tumor is still getting smaller. I’m working on determining the reduction rate, which could slow or pick up speed over the course of the chemo, but regardless, his treatment plan remains the same. That means surgery.”
“Shrinking? That’s good to hear…for the most part.” Sheri smiled, and the sadness was gone. “I have a question though.”
“Okay?” Dani didn’t like the way Sheri had ignored the surgery part of her statement. She wanted to push but decided against it. Maybe actual evidence would eventually soften the blow.
Drawing the Line Page 14
