She didn?t say that out loud, of course.

At least, she didn?t think she did.

By the look on Dylan?s face, however, there was a distinct possibility that her thoughts had been well and truly read.

Cat rose with a sigh. It was going to be a very long day.

Leaning her shoulder and head against the cool cement of the tunnel, Cat more or less patiently waited for Dylan to finally break away from every Tom, Dick, and Harriet who clamored for her much valued attention. She?d faced the press and crowds for a small eternity herself, but it was obvious exactly to whom they all paid homage. Which suited Cat just fine. The crowd gave her a major case of the willies.

She smiled, though, remembering one small girl, her hair all gone from chemotherapy treatments, and how she?d pushed with determination through the writhing mass, Cat?s rookie card in her small hand. Her right leg ended in a prosthesis, which made her determination all the more fierce and, to Cat, exceptional. The young girl had given her a shy, gap-toothed grin, and held up her card to be signed. Cat was, the girl said, her absolute favorite player in the whole world.

Smitten, and damn near tears, she?d signed the card, knowing that the pure, undiluted joy of that simple act would be something she would always remember.

She?d also posed for pictures with the girl, whose name was Randy, and they?d talked until her mother led her away, smiling, waving, and holding the signed card to her chest as if it was the most priceless of treasures.

Coming back to the present, Cat smiled, shook her head, and wiped the mist from her eyes.

They?d won all three of their games, of course, though the last game was a bit close for awhile. An Olympic high jumper had paired with the number three ranked tennis player to give them a match worth sweating for. In the end, however, they?d managed a 15-8 victory, and the crowd, ever appreciative of their efforts, nearly fell in on itself with joy. Cat guessed, privately, that most of that joy centered on the fact that they?d just been granted another day in which to see their Goddess in her cocktail napkin ensemble.

Cat chuckled a little at the thought.

A shower, cold and stinging, had done wonders for her disposition, if not exactly for her state of cleanliness. She could still feel fine granules of sand etching their way into her skin, and she shifted slightly, shaking one sore and aching leg to release some of the irritation.

“Come on, Dylan,” she murmured in the still air.

A tall shadow fell across her, and she smiled, looking up. Dylan was dressed in casual jeans and a crisp white T-shirt that accentuated her muscular build. Her hair was wet, shining, and slicked back away from her face, bringing her chisled features into even greater definition.

Cat felt the effects of the cold shower evaporate in an instant as another surge of warmth rushed through her body, causing a distinct weakness in her legs once again.

“Oh, what you do to me,” she breathed.

Looking down at the smaller woman, her hair still damp and slightly curling from her shower, her green eyes darkening with desire, Dylan knew that the feeling was entirely mutual. She smiled and held out a hand. “Let?s get outta here.”

Relaxing against the soft leather seat of Dylan?s rental, Cat looked on as their hotel passed slowly by on the right.

“Um?Dylan?”

“Mm?”

“Our hotel?s going bye-bye.”

Dylan chuckled. “I figured we could use some time away from the press. It?ll be a madhouse there. I don?t know about you, but I?m about interviewed out for the day.”

“True, but I was kinda hoping for another shot at a shower. I?ve got sand in places even I don?t want to know about.”

Dylan chuckled again, causing Cat to discover yet again how much she liked the sound of her laughter.

“Trust me.”

“I do.” Cat was smiling, but her eyes were dead serious.

Dylan?s gaze softened, and she took her eyes away from the road long enough to lift a hand to brush against the incredibly soft skin of Cat?s cheek. “Thanks,” she replied softly.

“No problem,” Cat replied in an equal tone.

As Dylan returned her attention to the highway, Cat rested her head against the seat, feeling the ghost of Dylan?s touch deep in the marrow of her bones.

“Wake up, sleepyhead. We?re here.”

Cat blinked her eyes open, unaware that she?d even fallen asleep. Stretching stiff and aching muscles, she groaned softly, and ran a hand over her face to clear sleep-hazy eyes.

“Where?s here?” she burred, voice hoarse from her unintended nap. “And how long have I been out?”

“About forty five minutes,” Dylan replied, coming around to the passenger?s side and opening the door for Cat. Reaching down, she eased the younger woman from the car and steadied her as she steadied herself on her aching legs.

Cat looked around, taking in a deep, bracing breath of cool, pine-scented air. “It?s dark.”

“Mm. That usually happens at nighttime, yes.”

That earned Dylan a stinging backhand to the midsection, which she absorbed easily as she began to lead her sleepy passenger up the long, secluded drive.

Cat?s eyes widened as a fairly large, low-slung house came into view among the towering pines. Through the huge glass windows came a flickering light that could only be a fire in the hearth. She looked over at Dylan. “I?I?m not too sure I?m much for company,” she admitted softly.

Dylan raised an eyebrow. “I wasn?t aware I constituted ?company?.”

“Not you, silly. Whoever?s got the fire going. They don?t just light themselves, you know.”

“Do tell,” was Dylan?s droll reply.

“I?m serious, Dylan.” She knew she sounded a bit whiney, but that?s what unintended naps did to her.

“So am I.” Relenting a little, Dylan grasped Cat?s chilled hand. “I promise you, no one is inside this house.”

Cat read the truth in the press of her hand, and nodded. Then she looked up in shock. “This is your house, isn?t it.”

Dylan grinned, reaching the mailbox and pulling out several envelopes and showing them to Cat. “I sure hope so, or else I?m paying someone else?s bills.”

Cat looked at the bills in amazement, then up into Dylan?s smirking eyes. “Wow. A house in Birmingham, one here. Are there any more hiding around?”

Dylan?s eyes lit with devilment. “Maybe,” she said with just a hint of coyness. Then, laughing, she released Cat?s hand and reached into her pocket for the house key. Inserting it into the lock, she twisted, and swung the door wide, grasping Cat?s hand once again and escorting her inside.

“Jesus,” Cat breathed, looking around at the impressive accommodations. Directly in front of her was a sunken living room with all the high tech amenities that a soul could want, fronted by an enormous fireplace that took the chill off the cool night air. “This place is gorgeous!”

“Thanks,” Dylan replied, turning the recessed lighting to a soft, warm glow. “I usually spend some time up here in the off-season. My caretaker looks after it when I?m away.”

“Now there?s a job I wouldn?t mind having.”

Smiling, Dylan led Cat over to the large French doors, their view of the world beyond shaded by vertical blinds. “I know you were looking forward to a shower, and if you really want one there?s no problem, but I thought I might be able to interest you in this instead.”

Flipping open the blinds, Dylan exposed a view of a sizable, terraced deck in the center of which was a very large Jacuzzi, lit from within and swirling and bubbling in anticipation of their visit. Next to the swirling pool was a small metal ice bucket, and inside that bucket, Cat could just see the tip of a wine bottle emerging. Two long-stemmed crystal glasses sat on a folded cloth next to the bucket, and beside them, a thin, crystal vase holding one perfect red rose.

Cat was silent for so long that Dylan began to feel a tiny sliver of uncharacteristic fear tracing its way through her belly. Looking at her partner?s shadowed profile, she softly cleared her throat. “I?um?.”

Seeing a tear trail its gentle way down Cat?s cheek brought the fear out in full force. “Cat?”

Cat turned to her then, the smile on her face breathtaking in its beauty. “Thank you,” she whispered before closing the minute distance between them and wrapping her arms around Dylan?s taut body. “Thank you.”

After a moment of near dizziness, where total relief washed away the tide of fear, Dylan enclosed Cat in a fierce embrace, holding her as if in the holding, her own life had been spared.

They parted by mutual consent. Cupping Cat?s cheek, Dylan looked into her eyes, one thumb brushing away the lone tear that had fallen. “You?re okay,” she murmured, half question, half affirmation.

Cat nodded, fingers brushing against the hand so tender on her face. Her smile was radiant, her eyes shining like emeralds under glass. Dylan was mesmerized, unable to remember her own name, let alone when or where she had ever seen such beauty before.

Taking in a deep, slow breath, she centered herself and trailed the very tips of her fingers from Cat?s cheek to her hand, smiling at the goosebumps that followed her gentle touch. Reaching out with her free hand, she flipped the lock and opened the doors, letting in cool, clean air heavy with the scent of pine. She stepped out into the night, leading Cat by the hand to the lip of the Jacuzzi.

They stopped there for a moment, still linked, as they stared up into the star-blessed sky. The moon, pregnant and ripe, smiled down on them, gilding their forms in silver and white.

Letting go a soft sigh, Dylan released Cat?s hand, facing her at an oblique angle and taking in her shining profile. Cat?s eyes were closed, face turned up to the moon as if to a lover, awaiting a kiss.