”Yeah, lots of them, little brown gerbils in tiny green hospital scrubs, jogging,” Kerry responded. ”It was really bizarre.”

Dar regarded her bemusedly. ”No more chocolate covered bananas for you before bed,” she pronounced gravely, giving Kerry a little pat on the belly. ”Not with dreams like that.”

Kerry rolled over onto her back. ”Ungh, yeah, I think you’ve got a point.” She stifled a yawn. ”Give me a second to shake out the cobwebs and I’ll go with you,” she offered. “I could use some salt air.”

Dar contemplated telling her lover she didn’t have to, then reflected on how much more pleasant it was to have company during her run.

She kept her mouth shut, and merely rolled onto her side, reaching over and gently rubbing Kerry’s arms and legs to get her blood flowing.

”Couple of laps and a quick breakfast at the beach club?” she suggested, with a grin. ”It’s Monday. They’ve got those black walnut pancakes you like.””Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?” Kerry laughed, as she rolled out of bed and stood, arching her back and running her hands through her hair.Dar blinked appreciatively as the pearly dawn light outlined her lover’s lithe body. ”What purpose?” she asked, her own body now fully, interestedly awake. Amazing how fast blood can rise from the groin to the brain. She mused wryly. Or maybe it was the other way around. She thought about that for a while, then realized Kerry was standing, hands on hips, watching her with uplifted eyebrows.

And other things.

Dar gave herself a mental slap. ”Uh, sorry. Let me get outta here.”

She hauled herself out of the warm bed and trudged towards the bathroom, glad, at least, that her knee seemed to be holding up just fine.

She flipped on the light and winced at the brightness, hearing the low moan of protest from Kerry who was behind her, nuzzling her back.

Whoa. Another rush of blood. Definitely in the wrong direction.

”Um...” She felt a pair of hands slip around her waist and clasp in front of her, and a light nibble along her shoulder blades. ”Kerry?”

”Mm?” The blonde head poked past her elbow, and peered up at her, half obscured by Dar’s own body. ”Problem?”


Hurricane Watch

279

With a rueful grin, Dar put the tip of her finger against Kerry’s nose. ”Work before pleasure,” she reminded her.

”Hmm.” Kerry nibbled a rib, licking it delicately. ”You sure?”

Dar felt her heart double it’s pace, and her breathing pick up. Well, it could be considered an aerobic exercise, right? She turned inside the circle of Kerry’s arms, and cupped her chin, drawing her head up and surrendering to the insistent surge of sexual feeling. Her fingers brushed over warm skin as she reached blindly for the light, dousing it and throwing them back into the murky shadows.

Not that they needed light, of course. Dar slid her hands down and got a grip on Kerry’s waist, half lifting, half gently tossing her back into the waterbed, as she followed, finding herself being rolled over and straddled as a soft, lazy chuckle trickled from Kerry’s chest.

Whoa. Dar felt the tingle as it spread across her skin. Definitely aerobic. She took the opportunity to start at her lover’s knees, and slid her hands up the muscular thighs, then inward, and across Kerry’s abdomen, which tightened in reflex as she spread her fingers and left little trails of goose bumps after her touch. Then she pushed up, lifting Kerry a little before settling her in a more comfortable position.

Hmm...a little weight training, too. She chuckled, as Kerry’s lips started a progression down her neck. Maybe we can put out a video.

She sucked in a breath in reaction as Kerry’s lips moved lower, and their bodies slid together. Then again, maybe not.

THEY ENDED UP making their laps, but skipping breakfast, resulting in their crossing only one ferry later than usual after a hurried, shared shower. ”Whew.” Kerry checked her hair in the mirror on her side of the Lexus. ”That was the most entertaining Monday morning I’ve had in a while.” She gave Dar a look, her body still tinglingly aware of her partner’s close presence.

Dar chuckled and sighed. ”Oh yeah.” She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, enjoying her relaxed, good mood. ”Sure beats a staff meeting.” She glanced at Kerry, and they both laughed. ”Okay, let’s see what’s going on.” Dar punched a number into the cell phone strapped to the dashboard.

”Good Morning, Operations, Maria is speaking.” The voice came back, a tad more official sounding than usual, given that it was eight o’clock in the morning.

”Morning, Maria,” Dar drawled.

”AEEEIIII!” the secretary squealed, startling Kerry who jumped.

”Dar! Dios Mio! You are higher than el presidente now!!”

”Well, yeah, sort of.” Dar laughed.

”Oye, Dar. Have you seen the paper this morning?” Maria inquired.

”What paper?” Dar asked, innocently.


280

Melissa Good

”You mean the one with her picture in it?” Kerry interrupted helpfully.

Maria laughed. ”Si, si… Mark has put the picture into the computer, and we all have it as our screens.”

”What?” Dar barked.

”Oh, that’s wild,” Kerry chortled. ”Did he get it on mine?”

”Don’t you start in,” Dar warned her, shaking a finger. ”Maria, you tell him I want that off the desktops by the time I get in there, or he’ll be wearing one of those monitors.”

”Aww, c’mon, Dar, ” Kerry objected. ”I think it’s great.”

”It’s not your picture, is it now?” her boss shot back. ”Maria, get Mark on the phone.”

”Dar,” Kerry turned gently pleading eyes on her. ”I wanna see it. I bet he did a great job. It was a fantastic picture of you.”

Frustrated blue eyes fixed on her face. ”Absolu...” Dar felt herself melting at the sight of those beseeching orbs, and sighed. ”All right, just until we get there. But then, off it goes!”

Kerry blew her a kiss and smiled, getting an aggrieved look in response. ”Did you have a nice weekend, Maria?” She directed her attention to the phone.

”Oh, si, Kerrisita, and you?” The secretary sounded pleased.

”Yeah. We had a lot of fun. We went horseback riding and sailing,”

Kerry told her.

”Kerry fell off her horse,” Dar added sweetly. ”Then dumped me in the lake.”

”You jumped overboard,” Kerry objected. ”That wasn’t my fault.”

”You could have told me it was fifty degrees. Water isn’t supposed to be that cold,” Dar groused. ”Maria, we’ll be there in about ten minutes.” She started up the Lexus and drove it off the ferry, turning onto the causeway and heading for the office. “Picture on the desktop...I swear.”

Kerry snickered, half covering her eyes as she watched the busy streets go by.


Chapter

Twenty-one

ENTERING THE BUILDING was an odd experience. Kerry felt her eyes flickering around, as she tried to catch the few other occupants looking at Dar. She knew they were, but they really didn’t get the true impact until they both got on the elevator, and the conversation cut off as though the other riders had suddenly contracted acute, spontaneous laryngitis.

It was deafening. ”So,” Dar finally said, making everyone jump.

”How’s the weather been here?”

”Fine.”

”Great.”

”Warm.”

”Raining.”

”Lousy.”

Dar nodded. ”I see.” She leaned back against the wall as the elevator seemed to take forever in its upward motion. ”Good to hear.”

A cleared throat. ”How was...the...um...weather in North Carolina?” This was Miles, a senior auditor of Duks.

”Cold,” Dar replied, succinctly. ”Rained the first couple of days, but after that it got kind of nice.”

”Ah.” Miles rubbed his earlobe. ”Well, it rained here.” He cleared his throat. ”Um...congratulations.”

A murmur of agreement rose quickly, and several very grateful eyes fastened on the auditor’s face.

Fortunately, the doors slid open, allowing them to escape.

”Thanks,” Dar commented wryly, as they scooted out, leaving her and Kerry to continue up another two floors. ”Think I was the topic of conversation before we got on?”

”Oh, yeah.” Kerry nodded firmly, as the doors opened and they got out. ”Wait. I’ll go down to the cafeteria for coffee, see how fast a hush falls over that room, despite the fact that most of the conversation is in Spanish, and I know about six words of it,” she remarked wryly. ”You want some?”

”Oh, god, yes,” Dar murmured pathetically, as they reached the outer door to her office. ”And all the cheese pastalitos they have.” She pushed the door open, and smiled at Maria. ”Morning.”

The secretary beamed at her. ”Buenos Dias, jefa.” She waggled her 282

Melissa Good

fingers at Kerry. ”Buenos Dias, Kerrisita.”

Kerry grinned at her. ”I’m going down for some café, would you like some, Maria?” She accepted the secretary’s nod, then gave Dar a little pat on the back. ”See you in a bit.” She slipped out the door, leaving her boss and Maria in the outer office.

”Any mail?” Dar crossed to the desk, shifting the strap on her laptop case a little. ”I was expecting the new batch of contracts in.” She reached down to pick up the stack in the in box, when her hand was captured.

”Mi Madre.” Maria’s eyes widened. ”Dar, that is so beautiful.”

The executive found herself suddenly speechless, as her brain frantically rooted around for some kind of coherent response. She’d forgotten she was wearing the damn thing, and on ‘that’ finger, and that surely someone would notice.