She allowed herself to be led over to the waterbed and gently pushed down onto it, feeling the surface give under her weight. She rolled over and spread her arms out a little, feeling the cool air suddenly warm on her back as Kerry settled over her, straddling her hips.
Fingers slipped under the hooks of her bra and released it, then smoothly rubbed the area. Kerry’s hands were warm, and strong, and Dar felt the stiffness relax almost immediately as her companion started to work, kneading her shoulders and wringing tiny murmurs of appreciation from her. ”Ungh.”
”God, you really are tense,” Kerry commented softly, sliding her hands up Dar’s back to her neck and shoulders, which eased grudgingly under her touch. ”We’ve got to get you a recliner for your office or something.” She felt Dar chuckle, the vibration felt through her fingertips as they eased around Dar’s ribs.
”Hey.” Dar chuckled again.
”Whoops, sorry, forgot you were ticklish there,” Kerry teased, hitting the spot again on purpose, just to hear the laugh. She reached 302
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over and got a small bottle of oil from the night stand and uncapped it, putting a little on her fingertips and rubbing them together before she started back to work. ”How does that feel?”
The oil left warm traces across her skin, and Dar let out a long, satisfied breath. ”You’re the best.”
Kerry regarded the smooth, tanned back with a distinct feeling of pleasure. ”I am?” she queried. ”The best what?”
”Everything,” Dar mumbled. ”The best assistant, the best cook, you give the best massages...”
Kerry chuckled delightedly. ”That’s really cool. I’ve never been the best at something before, except debating,” she amended. ”But that doesn’t really count. All it means is I can win arguments.”
Dar folded her arms, and rested her chin on them, glancing back quietly. ”You’re my best friend,” she added, with a touch of wistfulness.
”I never thought about having one of those until I met you.”
Kerry gazed down at her, then she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on the center of Dar’s back. ”I’m glad you feel that way.” She moved up and put another kiss a little higher. ”Because you’re my best friend. And the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life,” she uttered softly, right into Dar’s ear.
A gentle smile in return. She rubbed Dar’s shoulders lightly. ”Turn over so I can get the front.”
That got her a saucily raised eye brow, as Dar twisted under her, and she was suddenly face to face with those amazing blue eyes, and a bare, powerful body trapped neatly under her own.
Whoa. Kerry put her hands down lightly on the flat belly, spreading her fingers out and starting a gentle, rhythmic massage. God, Dar is so strong. She could feel it, as she moved up across her collarbone to her shoulders, feel the thick, powerful muscles just under the skin that flowed into her upper arms. Kerry leaned forward to get enough pressure, and found herself looking almost straight down at those twinkling, amused blue eyes. ”You know...” She paused, holding Dar down, and feeling the faint motion under her fingertips. It was almost scary. Almost intimidating.
”What?” Dar asked, watching her face.
”I think I know how Steve Irwin feels when he’s on top of a crocodile,” Kerry told her.
Both dark brows shot up. ”Gee, thanks,” Dar drawled. “I love you too, honey.”
”No, no, no. I don’t mean you look like a crocodile, Dar.” Kerry laughed. ”It’s just that they’re always so much stronger than he is, and you get the feeling that at any moment, the croc might— Whoa—
yeow!”
Kerry felt the room whirl, then a heavy, warm weight settled over her. She cracked one eye open to see a blue orb inches from her. ”Uh oh.”
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”Might turn the tables?” Dar asked, with a seductive grin, as she leaned forward and pinned her lover down, taking a gentle nibble at her neck. ”Like that?”
Kerry felt her breathing go ragged. ”I’m pretty sure a croc nibbling his neck doesn’t make old Steve feel like this,” she responded, swallowing a few times. ”But yeah.”
Dar rolled back over, and allowed Kerry to resume her place. ”I kinda liked it this way.” She reached a hand down and stroked Kerry’s calf. ”Where were we?”
Kerry slid up and found her lips. ”Right here.” She felt Dar’s hands start to roam, lifting up the light t-shirt she was wearing and letting the cool air brush against her skin. ”I was just about to say...” She tasted Dar’s lips again, then slowly lowered herself down, feeling the instant heat as their skin touched. ”That I love you.”
Dar soaked the feeling up in quiet wonder. ”I love you too,” she responded, on an irregular breath. ”And I always will.”
DAR AWOKE ABRUPTLY, disoriented for a minute as she caught her bearings, and shook the sleep out of her eyes. ”Wh—” The bed next to her was empty, though she could still, faintly, catch Kerry’s scent on the sheets, and she put her head back down, wondering what had woken her up so violently.
The fragments of a dream faded out of her consciousness, something dark and vaguely frightening, and she thought she remembered walking down a long, dusty road at night, all alone, in tears.
Ugh...what was that? Dar shook her head to clear it, then put the thought aside. Can't blame it on dinner, since we skipped it, just one of those weird ones, I guess. She exhaled.
Then she cocked her head, and listened, expecting to hear Kerry moving around in the bathroom, or maybe coming back from the kitchen. She heard neither, and her brows contracted. She’s a big girl, Dar. She can probably handle getting milk by herself. She sternly told the niggling anxiety.
It didn't help. An uneasy tension in her guts sent the covers flying back, and Dar rolled out of the waterbed and padded off in search. The bathroom was empty, and so was the quiet, dark living room. She stuck her head in the kitchen, then she exhaled, and made her way up the stairs to the second floor. Kerry’s door was partially ajar, and she poked her head in, spotting her lover curled up in the large bed, her arms wrapped around her pillow.
For a long moment, Dar froze, unsure of what to do. Surely Kerry had the right to sleep wherever she wanted to, without being questioned on it, right? Dar nibbled a fingernail, running her mind over the evening’s course, and trying to figure out if she’d done something wrong.
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No. Not unless her understanding of right and wrong when it came to Kerry was way the hell off base. Kerry had been in a very good mood when they’d dropped off to sleep, so...
Just then, the figure on the bed shifted and Dar heard a sharp intake of breath, and a tiny sound of pain. Without further thought, she bolted across the floor and knelt at the bedside, putting a hand on Kerry’s tense arm. ”Hey.”
Green eyes gone silver in the moonlight blinked at her. ”Wh— Oh, Dar, god you startled me.”
”What’s wrong?” Dar asked, softly. ”Are you okay?”
”Oh,” Kerry sighed. ”Yeah...it’s...I’ve got cramps, really, really bad.” She gave Dar a wry look. ”I was expecting it this week, but it just got me a lot worse than usual.” She curled her fingers around Dar’s hand. ”I didn’t want to wake you up.”
”Mm.” Dar gazed at her. ”Sorry about that. Did you take something?”
”Yeah, a handful of Advil,” Kerry muttered. ”They’ll work, eventually.” She reached over and pushed a lock of dark hair out of Dar’s eyes. ”Go back to sleep. I’ll be fine.”
Dar hesitated, finding herself unwilling to leave Kerry, but not having any good reason to stay. ”Um...all right. I guess.” She paused.