”Somehow.”
”Mm.” Kerry unbuttoned the third and fourth buttons, sliding the shirt up and over Dar’s shoulders and letting it fall to the ground. Then she traced a gentle pattern down the tall body and got to the shorts, sliding those down as well. ”I bet you could” She nibbled the soft skin over Dar’s jugular and stepped forward, brushing their bodies together.
”You taste so good,” she murmured.
Dar felt her heart jerk and start pounding. ”Do I?” She moved closer and slipped her arms around Kerry, feeling her shoulder blades move as she reciprocated and the warmth of the contact between them surged. She ducked her head and captured an ear, tracing its curve with the tip of her tongue. ”So do you,” she purred softly, hearing the gentle intake of air as Kerry’s breathing caught.
Slowly they moved into the shower, trading the chill air for warm mist, and the spicy scent of the soap Dar preferred flowed around them.
Dar squeezed a little of the gel onto her hands and began to lather Kerry’s back, moving her fingers over the strong shoulders and down across her hips.
A soft sound escaped Kerry, who had started spreading soap down Dar’s sides. She pushed away a little, allowing the taller woman’s hands to continue their motion up her belly as she let her fingers trail down along Dar’s thighs. ”My pastor always taught me,” she murmured, moving back against Dar’s soapy body. ”That cleanliness is next to godliness.”
”Oh yeah?” Dar inclined her head and nipped the skin on Kerry’s shoulder.
”Mm. I gotta send him a card sometime and let him know how right he was,” Kerry uttered, starting a slow, tantalizing progression right down the center of Dar’s body, with a few east and west detours.
Dar just chuckled.
Chapter
Thirteen
IT WAS A very weird experience. Kerry paced quietly alongside Dar’s crutch assisted steps, carrying her lover’s briefcase along with her own. Usually they split up when they entered the building, but today, no. Today she kept her head up and regarded the people around them, knowing they were without a doubt the center of attention.
”Morning, Ms. Roberts, Ms. Stuart,” the guard greeted them, giving Kerry a wink.
”Morning,” Dar answered, as she moved past him and towards the elevator. Fortunately, everyone else seemed to have gone upstairs already, and they were alone in the elevator. ”So.” Dar eyed her. ”You ready?”
Kerry studied the mirrored doors of the elevator and took a deep breath. ”More or less. I’m going to go to my office and just see what I have on my desk. You going to call a meeting?”
”Of operations?” Dar inquired. ”I’d better, probably around ten or so. You want to send out a note?” Dar eased out the door as they got to their floor, and waited for Kerry to join her. ”That should give me enough time to get a few things settled.” They walked down the corridor and Kerry opened the door for her, waiting for Dar to enter.
Dar paused in the doorway and looked back at her, a gentle smile crossing her face. ”Thanks,” she commented simply, before she turned and continued on into the room.
Maria was there, seated precisely behind her desk, her hands folded on the top of it. She stood when Dar entered and took a breath.
”Buenos Dios, Dar.”
The executive stopped and leaned on her crutches. ”Good morning, Maria. Thanks for coming in.” She gave the secretary a smile. ”Did you have a nice day off?”
Maria beamed back at her. ”Si, si. My daughter took me out on the Sea Escape. I play the arm machines and win fifty dollars,” she stated.
”But I am glad you called me, glad you come back.”
Dar laughed. ”Now, that’s the way to spend your time.” She looked at Kerry. ”We’ve got to try that one weekend.” Her eyes went back to Maria’s, seeing the faint look of startlement. ”I’m glad you agreed to come back. I’d have really hated to have had to replace you, Maria.” She moved into her office, leaving her secretary and her lover looking at 168
Melissa Good
each other.
Kerry felt herself blushing, as Maria gave her a knowing smile.
”Um, I think I’d better go get some work done.” She cleared her throat.
”I’m, going to, uh, get some coffee. You want any?” she asked, rubbing the side of her face and feeling the heat against her fingertips.
Maria walked over, and took her hands. ”Kerrisita.”
Sea green eyes peeked at her uncertainly. ”Yes?”
”You have been such a gift to her,” Maria told her softly. ”God bless you.”
Kerry dropped her eyes and felt her blush intensify, almost making her light headed. She sucked in a few breaths and finally looked back up. ”Thanks,” she whispered. ”I think this feeling is God’s greatest gift to anyone,” she managed to get out. ”I’m glad I was in the right place at the right time.”
”Si.” Maria smiled. ”Go to your office. I am going to the downstairs. I will bring up you some coffee and some of the little pastries.” She released Kerry’s hands and gave her a little push. ”Go. I make faces like this.” She poked her tongue out. ”At all the other secretaritias.”
Kerry laughed. ”Okay.” She surrendered. ”Thank you.” She ducked out into the hallway and started towards her office, only to be stopped by Mark. ”Oh, hey.”
”Hey.” He cuffed her lightly on the arm. ”I hear you kicked ass yesterday. Way to go.” His face was tinged with sunburn, and he bore a faintly smug look. ”I take it the boss is here?”
She exhaled. ”Yep, just got to her office. I’m sure we’ll be a week just straightening out the email bombs.” This sudden, casual recognition of her and Dar’s attachment was, she had to admit, a little unsettling.
But kind of nice, too. It sort of relaxed a tension she’d hardly been aware of. ”Thanks for coming in so fast.”
Mark chuckled. ”Yeah, well, I guess the bike’ll have to wait on the weekend. I’ve got so much crap piled up on my desk, I have to go hire Mel Fisher to find it.” He patted Kerry’s arm again. ”See you later.”
Kerry lifted a hand in goodbye and walked down the hallway, going into her office and dropping into her chair, as she flipped the power switch on her computer and waited for it to boot.
What would Dar do, she wondered. She knew it would end up with Steven Fabricini leaving, but, how?
Hmm. She turned her attention to her email, which had spawned frighteningly overnight. Parent email now had multiple child email, some of which had died and left the original subjects lonely orphans.
”Jesus.” She paged through them. ”I wonder if I could just kill them all?”Her phone buzzed and she hit the answer button. ”Operations, Stuart.”
Hurricane Watch
169
A panicked voice answered. ”Oh, great, uh, Ms. Stuart, this is Roger, in Charlotte. Uh, we’ve got a problem.”
”Okay.” Kerry leaned forward, kicking her problem solving brain cells into gear. ”What is it?”
A loud sound of splashing came through the phone. ”Uh, ow!”
Roger yelped. ”Um, the sprinkler system went off over here, and umm.
Yeeoww!” The phone fumbled and clattered, then was picked up.
”Damn chair hit me in the, uh, well, anyway, we’re flooded.”
”Flooded,” Kerry repeated carefully. ”As in underwater?”
”Shit!” he yelped. ”Uh, sorry. Yeah, the control room’s three feet deep, and it’s not getting any— Wow!” A loud popping and snapping was heard. ”Yow, I think that was the main breaker panel going—”