“That’s it. That’s it! Here I go again. Oh God!”

Ash squeezed her eyes shut, unable to endure the chasm that

• 75 •

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threatened to swallow her up when she stared into a stranger’s eyes.

During a moment when she should have felt most connected, she felt nothing. Empty. Adrift. Lost. Her muscles quivered with unrelieved tension, her head ached, her heart pounded so hard her chest hurt.

When the woman…Linda…Laurie…Lisa…tugged weakly at her jeans and murmured, “Take these off so I can do you too, baby,” Ash thumbed the woman’s still pulsating clit to distract her. Lisa writhed under her and went back to chewing on her neck. After a few more pumps, Lisa forgot all about pleasuring Ash, which was exactly what Ash wanted.

“Fuck me, baby. Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me!”

Ash did, until the woman finally stopped coming and just drifted off into an exhausted sleep. Trembling, Ash sat on the side of the bed until her legs would hold her. Then she found her shirt on the floor, missing a couple of buttons, and pulled it on. She still had her boots and jeans on, and after checking to make sure she had her wallet, she let herself out. As she stumbled home, exhausted and a little high, she became aware of the uncomfortable pressure in her groin and the painful press of her swollen clitoris against the rough denim. She didn’t know how long she’d been with the blonde—hours, she thought. She hadn’t come once. Hadn’t wanted to. She knew if she went home and tried to come, she wouldn’t be able to. If she was lucky, a shot or two of whiskey would let her sleep. And if she couldn’t sleep, it was only a few hours until morning.

Morning. And she’d see Allie again. For the first time since she’d left the bar, she felt something besides numb. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t kill the sweet surge of anticipation.

• 76 •

RetuRning tides

chapteR eight

Alittle after five a.m., Reese slipped out of bed, grabbed her clothes, and carried them downstairs to shower and dress in the guest bathroom so she wouldn’t wake Tory. Then she settled on a stool at the breakfast counter and called the station house.

“It’s Reese. Is Officer Wayne there?”

“They just came in a few minutes ago, Sheriff,” Smith said. “Hey, Carter. Phone for you.”

“Hello?” Carter said.

“Carter, it’s Reese. I need you to run a check on an inmate—

William Everly. He should be doing time at Cedar Junction. If he’s out, get me his last known address and a number for his parole officer.”

“On it.”

“And, Carter, keep it quiet for now.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I’ll be in for shift change. Anything I need to know now?”

“Nothing I can put my finger on, but…”

When Carter hesitated, Reese said, “Trust your gut, Carter.”

Carter sighed. “Rica’s car was broken into in the lot on Bradford last night.”

“Is she okay?”

“Yes. There was no one there by the time she found it.”

“You don’t figure it was random.”

“I don’t know,” Carter said. “That’s what’s bugging me.”

“I’ll put some extra cars in your neighborhood and make sure street patrol checks Rica’s gallery frequently.”

• 77 •

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“Thanks. I’ll get on this other thing right away.”

“Good. I’ll check with you when I get in.” Reese disconnected and swiveled around at the sound of footsteps behind her.

Tory, barefoot except for her ankle brace and wearing only a thigh-length pale green sleep shirt, slid between Reese’s legs and wrapped her arms around Reese’s waist. She kissed the corner of her mouth and said, “Good morning, darling. You’re up awfully early.”

“And you should still be asleep. How’s your leg?”

“I’ve got some numbness on the side of my foot. More annoying than any kind of functional problem.” Tory sighed. “It’s from the swelling, which is pretty bad. I’ll need to elevate it as much as I can.”

Reese raised an eyebrow. “You don’t usually admit it when anything’s bothering you this much.”

“You’d see it. You’d know.” Tory rested her cheek against Reese’s shoulder. “And I can hardly expect you to come clean with me if I don’t do the same.”

“Can you stay home today?”

Tory shook her head silently.

Reese closed her eyes and breathed in Tory’s scent, a combination of coconut and fresh salt air. “Half a day?”

“Maybe. I’ll try.” Tory leaned back, searching Reese’s face. She looked tired. “What about you? You didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Yeah, but I had a hell of a bedtime sedative.”

Tory laughed. “Mmm, that was nice.” She kissed Reese again. “In fact, now that I think of it, we’ve got time for a repeat.”

“I’m already dressed for work!”

“That’s what buttons are for, darling,” Tory said, swiftly opening Reese’s uniform shirt. “They open and close so you can take your shirt off and put it back on again.”

Reese slid her hands up the back of Tory’s thighs and underneath the lower edge of her sleep shirt, encountering bare skin all the way up to her ass. She groaned and pulled Tory tighter into her crotch. “Love, I really need to go to work.”

Tory slid her hand inside Reese’s shirt and toyed with her nipple through her undershirt. “I know what time your day starts. They don’t need you right away.”

“I’ve got Carter running a check for me on the guy who assaulted Bri. I need to meet her before shift change.”

• 78 •

RetuRning tides

“You think it was him last night?” Tory slipped her hand out of Reese’s shirt.

“I don’t even know if he’s been released yet. Just covering the bases. If he is out, I want to know about it. I don’t want Bri and Caroline becoming targets.”

“Or you. He has every reason to go after you, but, of course, you’ll worry about everyone except you,” Tory said with an edge.

Reese had been home from Iraq for less than half a year. While she’d been deployed, she’d nearly died. Tory tried not to think about that. She tried very hard to erase the utter desolation she’d felt during the days when she hadn’t known if Reese was ever coming home. She’d mostly learned to live with the inherent danger of Reese’s job, but the fear still rode close to the surface. Especially when she was reminded that Reese never put her own safety before that of others.

“Hey, hey! Love, we’re getting way ahead of ourselves.” Reese ran her hands up and down Tory’s back, soothing caresses meant to calm rather than excite. She kept it up until she felt Tory relax. “One step at a time, okay?”

Tory nodded and pressed her face to Reese’s neck. “There’s something I need to tell you. I was going to do it last night, but then…”

She sighed. “I know how much work there is to be done in the next few weeks with the recovery in town, and now with this…who knows when we’ll ever have time to ourselves.”

Reese’s heart jumped into overdrive. “Is something wrong? What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. Darling, nothing’s the matter.” Tory caressed the back of Reese’s neck and smiled. “I want to have another baby.”

“Another…” Reese’s head pounded and her vision dimmed, the way it had in the middle of the firefight in the desert, the way it had last night when Tory had called her on the phone and said there was someone in the house…

“Reese,” Tory said gently. “Reese, how do you feel right now?”

Shuddering and trying to hide it, Reese forced a smile. “Just surprised.”

“No. Something else.” Tory took Reese’s hand. “Come sit down and tell me what just happened.”

Reese shook her head. “It’s nothing. I’m all right.”

Tory stroked Reese’s cheek. “Do not do this. I’m a doctor, Reese,

• 79 •

RAdCLY fFe

but anyone could have seen you turn pale and your pupils dilate. Right now, you’re shaking. Tell me how you feel.”

“I’m okay now,” Reese said. “For just a second, maybe two, there was a roaring in my head and I couldn’t focus, couldn’t hear. Goes away really fast if I just hang on for a few seconds.”

“How often?” Tory asked, ignoring the churning in her stomach, keeping her voice level and quiet. “How often has it happened?”

Reese shrugged. “I don’t really know. Just a couple of times in the last few weeks. Before that, nothing felt right, so I can’t even remember if it was happening then.” She gripped Tory’s hand. “Look, I’m okay. It was just a second. Let’s talk about you and us and another baby.”

“Has it happened on the job?”

“No,” Reese said quickly.

“I want you to come in for a physical. Today.”

Reese grimaced. “Tory, I don’t have time—”

“Do it today, Reese, or I’ll rescind your medical release to return to active duty.”

“Jesus, Tory.” Reese rubbed her forehead. “You wouldn’t—”

“I would. I’d do anything to protect you.” Tory turned abruptly, but Reese still held her hand and she couldn’t escape. She didn’t want Reese to see her fear. Or her anger.

“I wasn’t intentionally keeping anything from you. I just didn’t think it was important.”

“No, when it’s about you, you never do.”

“That’s not fair, Tor,” Reese said quietly. She stood and gently gripped Tory’s shoulders. “I’m trying.”

Tory spun back around and slid her arms behind Reese’s neck.

“I know, darling. I know you are. I’m sorry. Sometimes, I just get scared.”

“I’m sorry too. For ever making you frightened.”

“Shh.” Tory kissed the base of Reese’s throat, then her neck, then the corner of her mouth. “It’s not your fault. I love you. You can’t possibly know how much.”

“I do, love. I do know.” Reese kissed Tory, a deep lingering kiss.

“I’ll come by the clinic as soon as I can get away today, okay?”

“Thank you,” Tory murmured against Reese’s mouth, the kiss filling her with warmth and calm.