just the barest touch of lips. An ache of wonder Þ lled her chest and her words

came out on a sob. “I know it’s a mistake, Les, but I don’t feel it. When I touch

you, when I’m anywhere near you, places open up inside of me that are Þ lled

with sunlight. Places that have been dark for so long.”

“Oh God, Dev,” Leslie whispered, wanting to kiss her so badly.

She hungered for Dev’s passion to ß ood over her the way it had every time

they’d kissed, and the force of her wanting terriÞ ed her. “I can’t tell anymore

what’s real and what isn’t. Up until a few weeks ago I knew exactly who I was,

what I was doing, where I was going. Now I…I hardly recognize myself.”

“Do you love her?”

The question pierced Leslie’s heart, because she had never asked it herself. Of

herself. Even though she couldn’t see Dev clearly in the pitch-black tent, Leslie

closed her eyes. She didn’t need to see Dev’s face to hear the pain, and knew

what the asking had cost her. She kept her eyes closed while she searched for

an answer, because she couldn’t bear to see ever again what her words did to

Dev. Truth. God, what was truth? Were there gradations of truth? Was

something true only if she didn’t know any other way to be, any other way to

feel? When had truth become relative for her? When had love?

Did she love Rachel? Two years. She’d been a willing partner in making the

relationship whatever it was or wasn’t. Rachel was not at fault for never giving

Leslie what she hadn’t demanded, and Leslie would not negate her as she had

once negated Dev. She took a deep breath and refused to qualify or excuse—

as much as her heart screamed out for her to. “Yes.”

With trembling Þ ngers, Dev traced Leslie’s face in the dark—her forehead, her

cheeks, her mouth. Then she unzipped the bag. “I’m going to get out. Keep the

bag closed so you don’t lose all the heat.”

“What are you going to do?” Leslie forced herself to release her hold on Dev

and rolled over onto her side as the bag opened and Dev extricated herself.

Dev sat up and rummaged for the lantern and turned it on, then checked her

watch. “It’s midnight. If the rain doesn’t let up enough for us to chance taking

the boat out on the lake in the morning, we’ll have to try starting a Þ re to dry

out some of our gear. The tent’s holding, but the ß oor’s damp.”

• 160 •

WHEN DREAMS TREMBLE

Leslie caught Dev’s arm. “What are you going to do for the rest of the night,

Dev?”

“I’m going to hunt out whatever dryish wood I can and get it under a tarp.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” Leslie threw back the top of the sleeping bag, sat

up next to Dev, and clamped a hand on her arm.

“Besides the rain, it’s not safe out there. In case you’ve forgotten, trees are

falling like matchsticks. If one comes down on you, I’d never Þ nd you.”

“Les, I’ll be okay.”

“No.”

Dev looked away. On Leslie, anger looked a lot like arousal. And Dev was still

very close to boiling, and the pressure of Leslie’s Þ ngers digging into her arm

was as potent as a caress. If they struggled in the small space, she’d lose the last

frayed rein on the desire that was choking her. She’d be all over Leslie, and

there were only so many times she could stop. “Okay. We should both try to

get some sleep, then. I’ll put on some extra clothes and sleep on top of the bag.

I’ll be okay.”

“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” Leslie barked. “We ought to be capable of

sleeping next to one another fully clothed. We’re not teenagers, for God’s

sake.”

Dev laughed harshly. “No, we’re not. That part, I do understand.”

“Then get back into the sleeping bag.” Leslie Þ sted the front of Dev’s shirt and

pulled her down. Her expression softened as she barely resisted caressing Dev’s

stony face. “Get in, zip it back up, and turn on your side with your back to me.”

Since it made as much sense as both of them sitting up for the rest of the night,

freezing, Dev complied. It took some doing, but Þ nally she lay with Leslie

curved along her back and Leslie’s hand resting on her shoulder. As much as

she knew it was crazy, she was grateful for whatever bit of contact she could

have with Leslie for however short a time. She was too tired and wound too

tight to think much beyond that.

Leslie rested her cheek lightly against Dev’s back and closed her eyes. Truth.

Do you love her?

Yes, but never the way I loved you.

• 161 •

RADCLY fFE

v

Leslie awoke in hazy gray light, damp and stiff and aroused. She was in the

same position she had been in the night before when she’d fallen asleep, her

belly and breasts snugged against Dev’s butt and back. Her borrowed jeans

were a size too big for her, but she still felt an uncomfortable tightness in her

groin, a deep throbbing pressure that had her longing for release. She’d never

been so aware of her body, or another woman’s, or of the relentless urgency to

be touched. She inched away and felt Dev stir immediately. Dev must have been

lying awake.

“What time is it?” Leslie whispered.

“About six.”

“I don’t know what I want Þ rst. We skipped dinner and I’m hungry.

I want to brush my teeth. And I have to pee.”

Dev laughed, found the zipper, and opened the bag. She crawled out, gritting

her teeth as pain lanced down her leg, and slowly worked her way into a sitting

position. Her right hip was on Þ re. “The Þ rst two I can help you with. You’re

on your own with the last one.” She leaned over and pulled a dry bag from a

pile. “How about a protein bar to stave off starvation?”

“Let me take a quick run outside and I’ll take you up on it.” Leslie lifted one of

her ruined shoes and grimaced. “They’re a wreck. Would you mind if I wore

your boots?”

“Go ahead.”

After Leslie left the tent, Dev tried her two-way radio. The batteries were still

good, but she couldn’t raise anyone back at Lakeview. From the sounds of the

storm, the wind was still high. She dug out the rubber boots she wore for

shallow water work and followed Leslie out to take care of her own call of

nature. When she was done, she inspected the trench around the tent. Even

though nearly obliterated by the driving downpour, it had nevertheless protected

them from a great deal of runoff. With a sigh, she turned to get the shovel from

the tent to re-dig it.

“Your leg’s bothering you, isn’t it?” Leslie said, stepping from the woods into

the small clearing around the tent. “You’re limping pretty badly this morning.”

“Too much time in one position.” As sore, tired, and emotionally

• 162 •

WHEN DREAMS TREMBLE

exhausted as she was, Dev couldn’t help but smile. Leslie had rolled up the

sleeves and cuffs of Dev’s sweatshirt and jeans, both of which were a size too

big for her, and she looked as young and fresh as she had when they were kids.

“What?” Leslie asked grumpily.

“Nothing.”

Leslie cocked her head and squinted appraisingly at Dev, impatiently brushing

rain from her eyes with one hand. The torrent had subsided to a heavy, steady

deluge. “What do we need to do?”

“For now, just freshen up these trenches to keep the ß oor as dry as we can. If

we have to sleep another night out here, I don’t want the sleeping bag getting

wet.”

“I’m not sleeping out here another night.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be okay. Once we have a Þ re going, we can get things

reasonably dry.”

“Where’s the shovel?” Leslie walked to the tent and yanked down the zipper on

the ß ap. It wasn’t about sleeping wet. She didn’t care if she had to sleep under

the trees in a monsoon. She couldn’t spend another night next to Dev, not

without imploding or attacking her. She couldn’t even look at her without

starting to ache. Dev had circles under her eyes, her wet hair clung in disheveled

strands to her neck, and her work shirt and jeans were mud streaked. And she

was absolutely gorgeous.

“I’ll take care of it,” Dev said.

Leslie turned abruptly and found Dev inches from her. She balled her Þ sts so

she wouldn’t slide her hands into Dev’s hair. “You won’t.

You’ll get in that tent and lie down. You can hardly walk.”

Dev’s jaw tightened. Even in the rain and shadowy light, Leslie’s eyes blazed.

Dev wanted to kiss her. She wanted more than that. She wanted Leslie under

her, naked and open and wet.

“Get in the tent, Dev,” Leslie said, watching the hunger rise in Dev’s face. No

one had ever looked at her like that before, and she craved it now like nothing

she had ever known. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Please.”

“Leslie—”

“Glad to see you two are still in one piece!” Natalie called as she materialized

out of the woods.

Dev jerked and stepped back a pace. Leslie took a long breath and settled

herself before turning to face the ranger. Natalie stood with

• 163 •

RADCLY fFE

her hands on her hips observing them with a curious expression on her face. She