Authors: Radclyffe
“Do your siblings all resemble you?”
“Every one.”
“Amazing genes. I couldn’t believe how much you and your brother look like your cousin when I saw you all together this afternoon.”
“My father and Deo’s mother are twins.” Pia studied her wine. “I was sort of a gangly teenager, but Deo has always been gorgeous.”
Nita laughed, consciously not thinking about Pia’s gorgeous cousin. “Well you certainly caught up.”
“Thanks.” Pia grinned. “So, a house, huh? Where?”
“I bought a sea captain’s house in the West End.”
“The big old rambling place with the widow’s walk? That’s a great place, although it’s been empty for quite a while.”
“I know it needs some work, but I fell in love with it.”
“When do you settle?”
“Just a couple of days. No one has lived in it for so long we had a quick closing.” Nita smiled self-consciously. “I can’t wait to get started renovating the place.”
“Well, be sure to ask my mother about construction regulations. The township is very strict about what you can do to those historic places. You should probably start getting bids now.”
“Thanks. I will.” Nita stood and stretched. “Joey is going to need a wound check tomorrow. If things are looking good, you can start some gentle rehab with him in a day or two.”
“I’ll come by when he has his appointment with you. Okay?”
“That’s great. I think I’m ready to call it a night. We’ve still got another day left of the holiday weekend, and if it’s anything like today was, the clinic’s going to be busy tomorrow.” Nita glanced down toward the beach. The entire time they had been talking, she’d half expected to see Deo return. She was glad she hadn’t. “Well, good night.”
“See you tomorrow,” Pia called.
*
“Everything okay?” Reese inquired, leaning against the door in Reggie’s bedroom. The last bit of the fading sunset filtered through the white curtains, and as Tory bent over the crib, she looked timelessly beautiful framed in the golden glow. So beautiful that Reese ached. She had imagined this scene a thousand times in the weeks that she’d been away. When everything around her had been senseless chaos, when the sky turned to fire and death rained down from the heavens and exploded from the earth, she had clung to the only thing that kept her sane. She had been shocked when her determination to fulfill the mission she had trained for all her life failed to sustain her and when only the memory of her wife and child kept her going. Leading her marines into battle and in some cases to their deaths while secretly questioning her purpose had shaken the foundation of her world. She had built her life on her belief in her duty and responsibility, and she had come home doubting both. She had come home no longer certain of who she was.
Smiling, Tory turned from the crib, her finger to her lips. After switching on the nightlight on the bright blue dresser by the door, she joined Reese. Once outside in the hall, she said, “She might not have known what the party was for, but she definitely had a good time. I think she sat on everyone’s lap at least once.”
“She didn’t have dinner.”
“We’ll feed her later when she wakes up.” Tory grasped Reese’s hand. “How about you? Did you eat something?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“That’s not exactly what I asked,” Tory said quietly.
Reese stopped at the top of the stairs and pulled Tory close. She nuzzled her hair, then kissed her neck. Some of the doubts that plagued her receded. Tory was real. Tory was alive. “I’m
fine.
Stop worrying.”
“Comes with the territory, Sheriff.” Tory stroked Reese’s cheek. “Besides, I enjoy looking after you.”
“You’ll get no argument from me.” Reese wasn’t hungry for food, but she still felt empty. Nothing filled her up except Tory. In the recesses of her mind she heard the thunder and felt death coming. She hesitated, uncertain for the first time in her life of how to face it. She gasped, “Tory.”
“What, sweetheart?”
In her mind, Reese saw Tory silhouetted in the moonlight, saw her shimmering in the bright light of day. Tory knew her. Tory touched her inside, beyond the fear and doubt. Tory was all that kept her from the dark. Reese pressed Tory into the shadows, maneuvering her back against the wall. Gripping her shoulders, she kissed her neck again, then her mouth. Pinning her with the weight of her body, she slid one hand under the lower edge of Tory’s T-shirt. Tory’s breasts weren’t as full as they had been when she was breast-feeding, but they were still firm and hot under her thin satin bra. Reese cupped her, squeezing until Tory’s nipple tightened in her grasp. Groaning, she kissed her way down Tory’s neck and fumbled to push Tory’s shirt up with her free hand.
“Reese, honey, we have people in the house,” Tory warned.
Aching, echoing with emptiness, Reese worked her hand into Tory’s bra and lifted her breast free. She bunched Tory’s cotton T in her fist and caught a nipple in her mouth.
“
Reese.
” Tory sank her fingers into Reese’s hair and pulled her mouth from her breast. She cradled Reese’s face against her throat, not wanting to push her away. Reese had only been home a few weeks, but it had only taken a few days for Tory to realize that something was wrong. Something had changed. Reese had always been passionate—sometimes gentle, sometimes urgent—but always
always
exquisitely present. Now, her need rose with the fury of an unexpected storm that broke over the horizon and lashed everything in its wake. Sometimes Tory wasn’t certain Reese was even aware of what she was doing. “Sweetheart. We can’t.”
“Sorry. Jesus. I’m sorry.” Drenched with sweat, Reese broke Tory’s hold and jerked her head away. “Tory, I’m sorry.”
Reese was trembling, and that nearly broke Tory’s heart. “It’s all right, darling. It’s all right.”
“No it isn’t,” Reese said sharply, backing away another step. She held up her hands to ward Tory off when Tory reached for her. “My need. Not yours. I’m sorry.”
“No,” Tory whispered fervently. “Your need is mine. It always has been.”
Reese shook her head. “Not this way. Not this way.”
Before Tory could protest again, Reese turned and disappeared down the stairs. A minute later Tory heard the door slam. When an engine revved in the driveway outside and tires kicked up stones that cracked like rifle shots, she knew it was Reese in the patrol car. Leaving. Reese had never, ever walked away from her before and the pain was so acute she was nearly ill.
*
“Hell of a party,” Cath said, dropping into a chair next to Tory on the deck. “Wait’ll next year when she actually knows what’s going on.”
“Thanks for helping out.” Tory sipped her wine, then set it aside when she realized she couldn’t taste it. “Where are Marcus and the kids?”
“I sent them back to the B&B. Where’s Reese?”
“Working, I think.”
“You think.” Cath reached across Tory and grabbed her wine glass. Then she settled back and took a swallow. “I noticed she disappeared earlier.”
“She’s not quite herself.”
“Is she having a hard time with what happened over there?”
“Yes. At least I’m sure that’s part of it.”
“How are you doing?”
“I’m not sure.” Tory regarded her sister. “No, that’s not true. I’m scared to death. I don’t know what to do for her.”
“What’s wrong, exactly?”
Tory laughed humorlessly. “I don’t know and I feel like I should. I’m her partner and I should know.”
“Uh, I don’t think just because you love her you’re supposed to be a mind-reader.” Cath took Tory’s hand. “Give yourself a break, honey. You’ve both been through a lot. Is it post-traumatic stress?”
“At first I thought so. I’d pretty much expected it. Even troops who haven’t been captured or wounded suffer some form of reentry shock.” Tory watched the stars overhead, thinking of the nights she had sat out here alone wondering if Reese could see the same stars from where she was. “She certainly has reason to show those kinds of symptoms, but now I’m not so sure. She’s not eating or sleeping, and that’s typical enough—but there’s something more. Sometimes she seems so lost. I
hate
not being able to help her.”
“It hasn’t been that long. You both probably just need some time.”
“I know. I’ve been telling myself the same thing, but tonight…” Tory swallowed back tears. “She left tonight. She left the house, she left
me
, because she was upset. She’s never done that before.”
“Does she… God, this is really hard to say. Does she drink or abuse drugs or anything like that?”
Tory laughed incredulously. “Reese? God, no. She has always been so solid, so certain. She’s unshakable.”
“Until now.”
“Yes, until now.” Tory said softly, wondering where she was. If it had been KT leaving after being rebuffed, Tory knew where she would go. KT would have sought respite with another woman, at least when she and Tory had been lovers. But Reese was not KT—she had never…would never… “God, I want her to come home. She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever known and seeing her like this just about kills me.”
“You’re no pushover yourself, honey,” Cath said. “You can be strong for both of you until Reese heals.”
“What if I can’t? What if I can’t give her what she’s always given me?”
Cath squeezed Tory’s hand again. “You will.”
Tory held her sister’s hand and ached for the touch of her lover.
“How about some pizza?” Deo clasped Allie’s hand as they strolled along a sandy walkway between two buildings that led up from the beach to Commercial Street. When the party at Reese and Tory’s had broken up, Deo offered to drive Allie home, but instead of saying good night, Allie suggested they head into town. Even more so than most weekend nights during the season, tourists and summer residents packed every available B&B and condo for the
Fourth of July. For another hour or so, the streets would be filled with mostly same-sex couples celebrating the freedom to be visible and among community. Deo hadn’t been anxious to return alone to her condo at the end of Bradford Street, and Allie was fun—easy to talk to and easy on the eyes. And she seemed okay with a relationship that was just as easy. A little mutual company, a few hours of shared pleasure, an encounter with no expectations. In Deo’s experience, a lot of girls
said
they were okay with that, but after a couple of dates, things changed. Now, she was careful not to see anyone more than a time or two, and she didn’t sleep with half the women everyone gave her credit for. It didn’t seem worth disavowing everyone of their notion that she scored more than most guys, and her reputation kept the women she saw from expecting much more than a casual night out.
“Pizza. Hmm. I sort of thought you had an appetite for something else,” Allie said suggestively.
“Oh, I do.” Deo laughed. “But certain activities burn a lot of calories, so it’s always good to stock up when you can.”
“Is that right?” Allie slowed within the slanting shadows of the overhanging eaves and kissed Deo, squeezing her ass with both hands while rolling her pelvis against Deo’s crotch. “Then I suggest you have two slices.”
“Much more of that and it won’t be pizza I need,” Deo muttered breathlessly, surprised not only by Allie’s aggression but by her own swift response. Her stomach tightened with urgency, and she felt herself grow hard and tense. She skimmed her fingertips over the outer curve of Allie’s breast and smiled to herself when Allie moaned. Good to know she wasn’t the only one with a hair trigger tonight. “I’m a little past groping girls in dark alleys, but Jesus, you feel good.”
“Baby, you have my permission to grope.” Allie hooked her calf around Deo’s thigh and rocked into her crotch again, digging her fingers into the firm muscles of Deo’s backside for balance. She ran her tongue around the edge of Deo’s ear and nibbled on her earlobe. “I can’t believe how hot I am. I’m ready for you to fuck me right here.”
“You’ve really got me stoked too,” Deo gasped, tilting her head back as Allie sucked on her neck. When she pinched Allie’s nipple and Allie whimpered, her vision went hazy and all she could think about was being inside her and making her scream. “Time out. Oh man…Allie, time out.” She grabbed Allie’s hips and put some air between them. “I’m about two seconds from forgetting where we are, and I’m not going to do this up against a building.”
“I know, I know.” Allie shivered. “But I want you to.”
“You’re making me a little bit crazy.”
“Bad crazy?”
Allie sounded genuinely worried, and Deo experienced an unexpected rush of gratitude. Usually her companions figured she didn’t care about anything except the sex, and it was nice to have someone actually ask what she felt. Deo circled Allie’s waist and started walking again. “Feels pretty good to me. You?”
“Better than good.” Allie stroked Deo’s stomach before sliding her fingers an inch or two underneath the waistband of her pants. She purred when Deo groaned. “You tripped all my switches and there’s no off button. I’m so wired my whole body’s buzzing.”
“Still want pizza?”
“Sure. Just don’t fill up on it.”
Laughing, Deo led her through a horde of men spilling out onto Commercial in front of Spiritus Pizza. “Grab us a seat and I’ll get the food. What’s your pleasure?”