“I’m glad that I went to the academy when I did.” Cautiously, Bri placed her fingertips very lightly on either side of Carre’s waist beneath the bottom of the jacket. “I’m not happy about leaving you, though. I’m sorry for screwing up.”

“Have you been seeing anyone since you’ve been here?” Carre spoke quietly, so quietly that her words were nearly carried away on the night wind.

“No. Not once,” Bri replied vehemently. “I love you, Carre. I won’t ever hurt you again. I promise.”

“I’ve missed you so much, Bri,” Carre said softly.

“I love you, babe. Do you believe me?”

“I’ve always believed you.”

“Is it enough?” Bri was holding her breath.

Carre turned her face and pressed her lips to the spot where she could feel Bri’s heart pounding beneath her cheek. “I always thought it would be…before. I’m not sure now. But we’ll find out.”

Tory had just awakened from a nap on the couch when Reese walked in. Smiling, Reese leaned down and kissed her softly on the mouth. “Hi, love. How are you doing?”

“Other than feeling like a narcotized whale, I’m doing just fine.”

“You don’t look like a whale,” Reese commented as she lifted Tory’s feet, sat down, and settled her lover’s legs into her lap. She began to massage Tory’s feet.

“Are you trying to seduce me?”

“Do I have to try?”

“No.” Tory nudged her heel between Reese’s thighs, eliciting a groan from her. “To tell you the truth,” Tory said somewhat irritably, “I feel like sex, but I’m not sure my body is up to it.”

“Whatever you want, whenever you want. You’re the boss.” Reese leaned sideways until she was reclining next to Tory, taking care to support herself on one arm so that she didn’t put her weight on her lover’s body. “This is enough for me.” As she spoke, Reese ran her fingers over the swell of Tory’s belly, and then brushed lightly over the curve of one full breast. “You get more beautiful every day. And when I feel the baby move, it’s just about the most thrilling thing I’ve ever experienced.”

“This is heaven,” Tory murmured. “But once in a while, Sheriff, I miss the wild sex.”

Reese laughed out loud. “I need to shower. Then what do you say we get in bed and see what happens?”

“See? I knew you were trying to seduce me.”

When Reese emerged from the shower, she crossed to the bed and reached for the bedside light.

“Just turn it down low, but leave it on,” Tory murmured. “I want to see your face.”

“Okay,” Reese said softly and slid beneath the sheets.

“You know what I love about sex with you?” Tory said pensively.

“What?” Reese asked, her eyes fixed on her lover’s. Tory’s expression was both whimsical and tender.

“You don’t hold anything back.”

“I love you with everything I am,” Reese whispered, gently resting her palm on the arch of Tory’s hip. “You own me.”

“Mmm. I love that about you, too.” Tory nestled her cheek in the bend of her arm and ran her other hand over Reese’s abdomen. “I want to watch you come,” Tory said steadily, running her fingertip between Reese’s breasts, then fleetingly over her nipples. She gave a murmur of satisfaction as they hardened to her touch.

“Aren’t you tired?” Reese was having trouble keeping her breathing steady or her legs still as Tory caressed her.

“I said I wanted to watch.” Slowly, deliberately, Tory drew Reese’s fingers down the center of Reese’s body and between Reese’s thighs. “Okay?”

Reese’s lips parted with a soft groan as Tory urged her to touch herself. Throat tight, Reese murmured, “I said anything you wanted.”

“I want.”

Tory kept her fingers lightly in contact with Reese’s so that she could feel Reese move. Her own heart beat faster, watching the tension grow in Reese’s face. Beneath her palm, Reese’s hand circled gently. “Are you hard?”

“Christ, yes.” Reese found it almost impossible to talk. It wasn’t as much the pleasure spiraling from beneath her fingers, but the look of hunger in Tory’s eyes that fueled her excitement.

“Slow down,” Tory said softly.

“I don’t…think I…can,” Reese said through gritted teeth. The muscles in her stomach danced in anticipation. “Oh God, Tor. It feels so good.”

“Make it last,” Tory urged. She enjoyed watching the pleasure ripple through Reese’s body too much to end it too quickly. “You’re so beautiful right now.”

“I want…to come,” Reese gasped desperately, her vision dimming. “Can I…come?”

“Hold on as long as you can.” Tory shifted her fingers lower, gliding over Reese’s fingertips as Reese fondled herself. “Tell me when you’re coming.”

“Soon…oh, soon.”

“Wait…wait, baby.”

“Tory,” Reese cried sharply. Her eyes opened wide, then the pupils flickered rapidly as her limbs grew rigid. “I’m gonna come.”

“Yes, sweetheart,” Tory murmured as she slid into her in one single motion. “You are.”

Reese choked out a cry as she flung her head back, forcing the orgasm on with each frantic stroke of her hand. When it seemed the convulsive contractions were almost over, Tory withdrew nearly completely and then entered again, setting off another round of spasms.

Dimly, Reese heard Tory’s voice close to her ear. “Again?”

“I can’t, I can’t.” Sweat streaked Reese’s face as she pressed her cheek to Tory’s breast. She still cupped herself with her palm, but Tory had withdrawn. “God, I’m wasted.”

“I adore you.” Tory pressed her lips to Reese’s forehead, then drew her lover’s head back to her breast. “Now go to sleep, sweetheart.”

With a sigh, Reese slid her arm over Tory’s hips and closed her eyes, doing as her lover bid.

A little after midnight, Bri walked Carre to the door of what she now thought of as her father’s house, not hers.

“Can I see you tomorrow night?” Bri asked, grasping Caroline’s hand as she leaned back against the porch post.

Carre stepped closer until she was nearly between Bri’s legs. “I’d like that.”

“Carre,” Bri whispered just before she kissed her. The kiss was nearly as tentative and tender as the first time she had dared to put her mouth on Carre’s skin. Their thighs brushed lightly, and they joined fingers, clasping hands as their lips met.

Slowly, Carre pressed closer until the front of her body pressed against Bri’s, her hips sheltered between Bri’s thighs, her pelvis rocking softly in time with her slowly thrusting tongue. She whimpered quietly and Bri moaned.

Abruptly, Bri broke off the kiss and pulled her head back. “Babe,” she whispered urgently. “I have to stop.”

“We’re just kissing,” Carre teased gently.

Bri shook her head. “You feel too good. I’m too excited. I want to save it.”

“For what?” Carre tilted her head and studied Bri’s handsome face, dark now with tension and desire.

“I want the first time we’re together again to be special,” Bri whispered, resting her forehead gently on Carre’s.

With a small cry, Carre wrapped her arms around Bri’s waist and pressed her cheek to Bri’s shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Bri whispered. “So fucking much.”

Carre ran her fingers lightly along the edge of Bri’s jaw. “I should go in. Be good, okay?”

“You mean I can’t go home and take care of myself?”

“I’d rather you waited for me,” Carre replied, her voice soft and low.

“Does it count against me if I come in my sleep?”

Carre seemed to give this some thought, her smile widening. “Depends on who you’re dreaming about.”

“Babe,” Bri answered seriously, “I only dream of you.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

When Reese stopped by the clinic to pick Tory up after her half day shift was over, Randy was nowhere in sight, so she walked through the door that led to the examining rooms and Tory’s office. As she passed an open room on her right, she automatically glanced in and saw Dan Riley bending over a woman lying on the examining table. Reese stopped abruptly, her pulse suddenly racing. The woman was Tory.

“Tor? Are you all right?” Reese walked around the far side of the table and grasped Tory’s right hand. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Tory said quickly. “I had a bit of a headache, and Dan insisted that I lie down.”

“Headache.” Reese said the word very calmly as she studied Tory’s face. Inside, the roaring in her head was making it hard for her to think. Headache, visual disturbances, protein in… “Did you call Wendy?”

“It’s not necessary.” Tory shook her head and sat up on the side of the table. “My pressure hasn’t changed. It’s just an ordinary headache. It happens.” She spoke very slowly and kept her eyes fixed on Reese’s. “Sweetheart, everything is fine.”

Finally, Reese shifted her gaze back to Dan, and he nodded slightly before speaking.

“Her pressure’s high, but no higher than what she tells me it’s been for the last few weeks.” He smiled, the kind of smile doctors give patients to reassure them. “But…her shift is over, so I recommend an afternoon of taking it easy. I think that will probably solve the problem.”

“Well, that’s what we’ll do then,” Reese said, forcing a smile of her own. “Let’s go home, love.”

Tory kissed her, then said, “Let’s call Kate and Jean and invite ourselves to dinner tonight.”

“That sounds like a great idea.”

“Go to work, Reese,” Kate said. “It’s almost time for your shift. We’ll drive Tory home.”

“Okay,” Reese said, “if you’re sure. Tory?”

“Its fine, sweetheart. I’ll see you later at home.”

Reese frowned faintly. “Don’t wait up. It’ll be after midnight before I get back.”

“Then wake me up,” Tory murmured as she put her hand behind Reese’s neck and pulled her head down for a kiss. “Now get out of here, Sheriff.”

Kate waited until Reese had left, then tilted her head and asked kindly, “Is something wrong?”