“I know.”

His voice was edged with pain, and Reese sighed as they stepped out into the dawn. “Sorry, Chief.”

“No need to apologize. It pisses me off, too.” He slid into the cruiser and waited while Reese climbed into the passenger side. “I’ll drop you off home.” At her look of protest, he shook his head firmly. “Nothing is going to change in the next few hours, so you might as well get some sleep. If anything comes up, I’ll call you.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are the kids okay?”

She knew what he meant without asking. “Bri’s fine. She handled herself perfectly during the vehicle surveillance and search. Allie, too. She was a little bit shaken up after finding the body, so we’ll need to keep an eye on her for the next day or two. But she was solid in the field.”

“Glad to hear it. Christ, how the hell did I end up with a force that’s half women?” he muttered under his breath.

For the first time in hours, Reese grinned. “Just lucky, I guess, Chief.”

Forty-five minutes later, Reese let herself quietly into her house through the back door. She stopped in the kitchen and made a small pile of her equipment belt, keys, and hat on the breakfast counter. When she slipped as quietly as possible up the stairs, loosening her tie and unbuttoning her shirt as she went, she heard a tiny whimper from the nursery. Moving quickly, she entered the room and leaned over the crib. Reggie, waving one tiny fist in the air, regarded her with solemn eyes and the ghost of a smile.

“Hey, Tiger. You’re awake already, huh?” Reese reached in and lifted her out. Cradling the baby on her left shoulder, she used her right hand to open a fresh diaper on top of the bassinet and arrange the other necessary supplies. Then she laid her daughter down to change her. “So, did you dream about something special last night? You have dreams, right? I bet you do. Exciting ones.” With swift economy, she closed the sticky tabs to hold the diaper in place and maneuvered the baby into a clean one. “Hungry yet? Sure you are. You’re always hungry.”

Reggie made a gurgling sound of assent.

“Okay. Breakfast, then. What do you say we let Mommy sleep and get some of the stored stuff out of the refrigerator?”

“Mommy’s awake,” Tory said from the doorway where she’d been leaning watching her lover take care of their daughter. There were times that she looked at the two of them and feared her heart would burst.

Reese turned with the baby in her arms. “Hey.”

Tory crossed the room and kissed Reese on the mouth. “Hi. Are you all right?”

“Yeah. Just a little tired.”

“Why don’t you get ready for bed, and I’ll take care of her. I’ll be there as soon as she’s settled again.”

“Feed her in bed. I like to watch.”

Tory held out her arms for Reggie. “All right. Go get out of your uniform.”

A few minutes later, Reese crawled under the covers and turned on her side next to Tory and the baby. She propped her head on one hand and rested the other hand on Tory’s abdomen, her fingers just touching the baby’s leg. “She looks so content.”

“She is,” Tory said with a small laugh. She ran the fingers of her free hand through the hair at the back of Reese’s neck. “Want to tell me about last night?”

Reese shook her head. “Not until she’s done. I don’t want to think about anything except how beautiful both of you are.”

Tory drew a sharp breath. “Honey, it’s probably best that I not be aroused in the middle of this.”

“You think she could tell?” Reese asked seriously.

“No,” Tory laughed again, “but I can only handle so many conflicting stimuli at once.”

“Oh.” Reese was quiet for a few seconds. “That’s a pretty sexy thought.”

Tory tugged on Reese’s hair. “I think your daughter isn’t the only one who’s hungry. Can you stay awake long enough?”

“I’m not the slightest bit tired.”

“Give me ten minutes to get her fed and back to bed.”

When Tory returned from the nursery, Reese lay on her back with both arms behind her head, watching Tory with an appreciative expression as she crossed the room. “That was eleven.”

“Was it?” Tory asked as she drew the sheet aside and stretched out on top of Reese. She braced herself with her bent elbows on either side of Reese’s head, once again threading her fingers into Reese’s hair. With her mouth hovering above Reese’s, she murmured, “Then I’ll have to take a little longer doing what I plan on doing to you to make up for it.”

Reese’s moan was lost in the depths of Tory’s mouth as their lips met and Tory settled her hips more closely between Reese’s legs. Their joining was as seamless as two halves of a whole slotting together, their bodies and hearts blending effortlessly. Tory allowed the weight of her body to press into Reese’s firm muscles and soft skin, loving the solid feel of Reese beneath her. Reese so strong, so tender, everything she’d dreamed of, everything she counted on, everything she needed.

“Reese, I love you.”

Almost dizzy with the heat of Tory’s passion against her, inside her mouth, surrounding her, Reese opened her eyes and searched her lover’s. “I need you so much.”

Tory lifted her hips and slid her hand between their bodies, cupping Reese in her palm. Slowly, watching her lover’s face, she slid into her, claiming her as she had been claimed. “I’m here, baby. Always.” She settled her hips once again, her own wetness warming the top of her hand as Reese’s flowed into her palm. When she began to thrust, Reese groaned and her eyelids flickered closed.

“Reese,” Tory gasped, rocking harder, exciting herself as she entered Reese more deeply with each plunge, “watch my face. Watch my face and know how much I love you.”

With supreme effort Reese opened her eyes. “I’ll come just from looking at you.”

“I want you to come watching me love you.” Tory’s voice was throaty and fierce as her hips bucked harder. Reese was everywhere under her, around her, filling her heart to overflowing.

Reese caught Tory’s breast in her hand, squeezing gently to the same rhythm that beat through her blood and her bones as Tory took her higher. Her skin burned, her belly was molten, and her mind filled with shimmering lights. She felt Tory’s fingers inside her, filling her, holding her, owning her. “Slow down. Tor, slow down.”

“No.”

“Please. Come first,” Reese implored. “Let me see you come.”

Stilling her hand, Tory threw her head back and circled her hips faster between Reese’s thighs, rubbing her clitoris harder over the back of her hand. “Oh God, soon.” She caught her lower lip between her teeth and looked down into Reese’s eyes as the first tendrils of orgasm floated free. The love and wonder she saw in their blue depths shot through her just as the orgasm exploded outward, and she crested on the twin peaks of unbearable pleasure. Crying out, she pushed her fingers hard into Reese, who immediately arched her back and came.

“Thank you,” Reese groaned when she could finally talk. She held Tory tightly, cradling her lover’s damp face against her shoulder. She kissed Tory’s forehead and smoothed her hair away from her face. “You’re so beautiful like that. Until Reggie I’d never seen anything that came close to being as beautiful,”

Heart aching, Tory pressed her lips to Reese’s neck. “I would never hurt you intentionally. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know.” Reese continued to stroke Tory’s neck and shoulders as she reached with her free hand to pull the sheet over them. She closed her eyes for a second while she summoned her courage. “I’m afraid. I’m afraid that it will be too much, too soon. I still remember what it felt like riding in that goddamned ambulance the night Reggie was born and being afraid that I would lose you. Lose you both.” Reese pressed her face to Tory’s hair. “I couldn’t stand it, Tor. I couldn’t make it without you.”

Tory gave a small cry and pushed herself up until she could see Reese’s face. “Oh, baby. No. Nothing like that is going to happen. I promise.”

“Sometimes I worry that I won’t be able to take care of you. Christ…” Reese took a long, shaky breath. “The only things I’m good at being a marine, being a cop don’t seem to be enough sometimes.”

“I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” Tory said gently. She kissed Reese’s mouth softly. “You are strong and brave and gentle and kind and tender. You love me and you love Reggie and that’s everything. Everything.”

“God, I hope so.” Reese kissed Tory again, deeply, with near-desperate passion. When she drew away, she sighed with a conflicting combination of contentment and concern. “You have to get help at the clinic, Tor. It will be too much otherwise. It was already too much before Reggie was born, and now”

“I will. I’ll find someone. I promise.”

Reese caught Tory’s hand and brought it to her lips, then gently kissed each finger. “Promise that you’ll take care of yourself. It won’t help your patients if you get sick.”

“I’ll take care of myself for you and for Reggie.” Tory slid to Reese’s side and stroked her lover’s neck and chest. “Go to sleep now, honey. Everything is going to work out.”

Reese allowed Tory to gentle her into sleep, needing the strength of her lover’s comfort to dispel the vision of a nameless blond girl who reached out to her through the dark.

Chapter Six

Bri squinted against the bright light dancing on the surface of her eyelids and tried to go back to sleep, but the combination of sun, the stealthy sounds emanating from the kitchen, and the sumptuous smell of coffee were too much to fight. She opened her eyes and rolled onto her side just in time to see Allie walk into the living room from the kitchen carrying two mugs of coffee. The next thing Bri noted was that Allie was wearing a T-shirt that came just to the top of her pale pink bikini panties. Bri rolled over in the other direction and pressed her face to the back of the couch.