“Come on, Carre. Come on me.”

Caroline stiffened.

“Oh, yeah. That’s it.” Impossibly, Bri felt a second orgasm rise from her depths, a distant thunder eclipsed by the storm raging in Carre’s body. “Do it, babe.”

Caroline jerked convulsively, her hands clutching Bri’s shoulders desperately, and screamed as the climax pummeled her. Bri strained into her, closing her eyes, letting her lover’s passion carry her away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“Man, I’ve missed that,” Caroline mumbled when she emerged from the pleasant torpor that followed. “I thought I was going to melt.”

“Meltdown is more like it,” Bri muttered, running her hands up and down Carre’s back. Carre was still on top of her, their arms and legs entangled. “You practically gave me a stroke.”

“Good.” Caroline traced a finger along Bri’s neck and down her chest, stopping to cup her breast in her palm. “Feeling better?”

“I can’t feel anything at all. I’m pretty sure my legs fell off.”

Caroline laughed and snuggled even closer, drawing one leg across Bri’s thighs and wrapping an arm around her midsection. “I love you.”

“Mmm,” Bri murmured, running her fingers through the soft golden hair. “Lucky for me.”

“Uh-huh. And try not to forget it, okay?”

“I’m sorry for being an asshole,” Bri whispered.

“It’s okay,” Caroline said softly. “You’re not.”

“Yeah, well.” Bri sighed and kissed her as Caroline snuggled closer.

“How’s Reese?” Caroline asked

“Good. Better.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get down to see her.”

“I’ll tell her you said hi,” Bri said. As an afterthought, she asked, “Have you talked to Tory lately?”

“Not since Reese was in the hospital. It was so crazy—I could never catch her in.”

“So you don’t know?”

“Know what?” Caroline asked anxiously.

“Tory’s pregnant.”

“Oh my god! That’s so great.”

“Yeah. Pretty cool, huh?”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see Tory and ask her all about it,” Caroline exclaimed. I want us to have a baby some day.

“Well, there’s a big class party in Barnstable the Friday of Memorial Day weekend—kind of like an early graduation thing.” Bri nuzzled Caroline’s ear contentedly. “So if you came down for that, we could swing down and see Tory and Reese after.”

Caroline grew still. After a moment, she said, “Uh…it’s special, huh?”

“Sort of. I’d like you to meet my friends.” Bri thought for a second, trying to clear her fuzzy brain, which still didn’t have enough blood going to it. From the way she felt, it was all still centered between her legs. “So, will you come?”

Another stretch of silence ensued. Bri opened her eyes, suddenly wide-awake. “Carre? What’s going on?”

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you on the phone before, because… you know, we got into a fight.” Caroline’s voice was flat, impossible to read. “Part of the scholarship for next year has this work study thing.”

“Uh-huh.” Bri’s heart started triple-timing. Jesus, something else?

“I got a job here for the summer. There’s an orientation that weekend.”

Bri sat up swiftly and reached for the sheet, pulling part of it over herself, searching for some fragment of protection. “You’re not coming back to the Cape for the summer? You’re going to stay here? “

“It’s not like I don’t want to be with yo…”

“Christ, you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t know,” Caroline said miserably. “I would have told you sooner…”

“So.” Bri was amazed at how calm she felt inside. No, not calm. Cold. Cold and, mercifully, numb. “I’m going to be there, and you’re going to be here. And then you’re going to be in Europe. For a year.”

Caroline sat up now, too. She searched around on the floor and found her blouse and pulled it on. Automatically, she handed Bri her T-shirt. “Yes, we’ll be separated for a while. So what?”

“Oh, come on.” Bri couldn’t take it anymore. She got out of bed, hunted up her jeans, and tugged them on.

“What’s the matter with you?” Caroline got to her feet and grabbed Bri’s forearms. “We knew this was going to happen sooner or later.”

Bri’s hands trembled as she buttoned her jeans. She turned away so Carre wouldn’t see. And what happens when you come back? You’ll have a new life, and I’ll be part of year old life. I’ll be the past. I can’t stand around waiting and wondering when that will happen.

Bri walked to the door and grabbed her helmet and jacket.

“Where are you going?” Caroline’s voice was filled with anger and tears. “It’s two o’clock in the morning.”

Bri couldn’t think of a single thing to say. She couldn’t say goodbye, because the words would tear her heart out. She couldn’t say I love you, because the words wouldn’t change what she feared would happen. In the end, she said nothing.

She drove all night and pulled into the parking lot in front of the training center with ten minutes to spare. When she’d left for Manhattan the night before, she’d planned on skipping her Saturday weapons class. Now, it seemed like the only thing that might take her mind off the howling pain that had threatened to swallow her up all night.

She must have sleep-walked through the class, because an hour and a half later, she found herself straddling her bike again. She fiddled with her keys, contemplating the rest of the day. The thought of going back to the barren apartment almost made her ill. She could ride to Provincetown, maybe visit Reese. But she should call before she did that. Visit her dad? No, he would only ask her questions that she didn’t have the strength to answer.

“Hey,” Allie said as she walked up. “You okay?”

Bri raised her head, slightly confused, then smiled faintly in recognition. Allie was wearing tight blue jeans and an academy T-shirt with expensive cowboy boots. She looked tough and sexy at the same time. “Yeah, sure. Fine.”

“I thought you looked a little spacey in class. Rough night?”

Bri laughed bitterly. “Yeah, something like that.”

“How about I make you breakfast?” The blond moved a little closer and placed a hand on Bri’s knee.

She didn’t even have to think twice. “Okay.”

“Excellent,” Allie said with a broad smile as she placed her palm on Bri’s shoulder, threw a leg over the broad bike, and snuggled up close behind Bri. She wrapped both arms around Bri’s waist, her hands resting in the curve of Bri’s thighs. “Most excellent.”

It took only a few minutes to reach Allie’s small cottage.

“Is this all yours?” Bri asked, still feeling a little disoriented.

Allie slid off the bike, removed her helmet, and hooked it to the bracket on the back of Bri’s Harley. “Yeah, I’m renting it for now. Depending on where I get assigned for my training period, I’ll either keep it or sublease it.”

“Nice,” Bri commented as she followed Allie up the drive.

“Come on in.” Allie opened the door and motioned Bri into a warm and surprisingly welcoming living room. “Sit down. You want coffee?”

“Yeah, that would be great.” As an afterthought, as she headed for the couch, Bri added, “Do you, uh, need me to do anything?”

“No. Go ahead and relax. You look like you could use it.” Allie leaned a shoulder against the open refrigerator door, observed Bri with a small smile, and shook her head. “I can manage this.”

Bri clasped her hands between her knees and nodded. Now that she was sitting, she realized that she really was beat. A night without sleep and ten hours on the road had left her a little fuzzy.

“Bri?”

Bri jumped. “What? Sorry.”

“Toast and eggs okay?”

“Sure.”

“Just give me a minute.”

Bri leaned her head back against the sofa and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, it took her a few seconds to place her surroundings. She was leaning to one side into the corner of the couch, her legs up on the cushions, taking up most of the rest of the sitting area. Allie was seated at the other end, her bare feet propped up on the coffee table, a magazine open on her lap.

“Good nap?” the brunette asked with a smile.

“Oh, man, I’m sorry,” Bri said as she jerked upright. Rubbing both hands over her face she searched the wall for a clock. When she saw that it was mid-afternoon, she realized that she had been asleep for several hours. Blushing, she glanced sideways into Allie’s dark eyes. “What a jerk, huh?”

Allie shifted closer until their shoulders touched, turning slightly so she could meet Bri’s eyes. “Uh-uh. I thought it was pretty cute when you just conked out. You didn’t even flinch when I put your legs up.”

“Sorry about breakfast.”

“That’s okay.”

Suddenly, Bri was acutely aware of Allie’s body pressing lightly along her side. She was also aware of her light perfume, a scent very different than Carre’s, but nice in a pretty sort of way. Bri looked down when she felt the light brush of fingers over her hand. Allie’s hand was small and delicate, each nail perfectly sculpted and glossy with a pale pink hue. It was very quiet in the room. The soft rhythm of Allie breathing was soothing and, at the same time, exciting.

A pulse tripped unexpectedly between Bri’s thighs, and she caught her breath in surprise. Reflexively, she stood up and stepped away a pace. “I should go. I’ve got a lot of reading to catch up on still.”

“Are you going out later?” Allie asked as she stood. “You know, Saturday night at the Breakers?”

“I don’t know,” Bri said awkwardly. “Maybe.”

“I’ll be there,” Allie informed her as they walked toward the door. “Look for me, okay?”

“Sure, if I go.”

When Bri mounted her bike and pulled out onto the highway, she didn’t head back to her temporary apartment. She took the highway that wound along the ocean and rode until the churning want in her depths subsided. By the time she returned, it was nearly dark. She didn’t go out again that night.