Ladyfish

by Andrea Bramhall

  She needed to touch Finn everywhere; her hands were greedy in the desire to explore as she traced her fingertips down Finn’s neck, across her chest and slowly along the edge of the plunging neckline. Finn trembled against her and started to move her hands down Oz’s back. Oz tore her mouth from Finn’s and trailed kisses down her throat while her fingers closed the distance to Finn’s breast. She drew one fingertip across the raised bump of her hardening nipple and smiled against her skin as Finn moaned and arched into her touch. The hands at Oz’s back drifted lower, squeezing her ass and pulling her closer. Finn’s apparent desire only served to further enflame her own until she couldn’t stop herself from pushing her thigh between Finn’s legs and pulling their hips flush together. Oz moaned as Finn’s hips moved slowly against her leg. It was sheer willpower that kept her from lifting Finn’s legs and wrapping them around her body. She wanted to feel Finn’s desire on her skin. To smell the sweet musk that she was sure would be waiting for her.

  Finn tugged Oz’s shirt out of her pants and traced patterns over the small of her back; teasing up and down her spine, along her sides, stopping short of the outer edge of her breasts every time. Oz drew her fingers across Finn’s shoulder, her lips trailing in their wake until Finn grabbed her hand and laid it upon her own breast. Oz gladly took the hint and gently squeezed, flicking her thumb over the hard nipple. She pulled back slightly and the hungry look on Finn’s face made her breath catch. She could neither stop nor gentle the kiss she wanted, her tongue plunging into Finn’s mouth, exploring every inch of her, eager to know every ridge and valley. She pushed her hands down Finn’s sides, gripping her hips and pulling her tighter against her thigh; her knees threatened to buckle under her when Finn ground down on her and trembled. Oz knew she was at her own limit; they were both breathing fast and hard, desire mounting, and the need to feel skin was becoming more and more difficult to deny. Oz was determined to keep her promise though and began to reduce the ardent passion of their kisses until they broke apart gasping and Oz wrapped Finn in a strong embrace and waited while they both caught their breath.

  “Good night, Finn.” She pulled away slowly and backed down off the porch. Their eyes locked as Finn stood with her back to the door. She was gripping the handle like it was the only thing keeping her on her feet, her breathing was still ragged, and her hand visibly trembled as she lifted it to wave.

  “Good night, Oz.” Finn’s voice was husky, her desire clearly evident as she pushed the door open behind her and disappeared inside. Oz stood staring, unable to make her feet move as fear gripped her. She cast her eyes heavenward and sucked in a deep breath before doing something she hadn’t done since she was a small child. She prayed for patience.

  She slowly managed to turn around and walk to her own house, knowing sleep wouldn’t come easily to her. Arousal coursed through her veins, each beat of her heart only making the situation worse. Walking away from Finn, even just until the morning, was so much harder than she had expected. Despite her words, what she really wanted to do was walk Finn to her bed, slowly peel away her dress, and cover her body with kisses. She wanted to feel Finn’s skin react beneath her tongue, to taste her. She wanted desperately to please her and hear her name whispered from Finn’s lips as she came. Oz changed into her running shorts and quickly tied on her sneakers before heading out the door again, uncertain if she was running to conquer her desire or her fear.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  The incessant ringing of Finn’s cell phone woke her up. She cracked one eyelid and stared blindly at the alarm clock beside her bed as she grabbed the handset and brought it to her ear.

  “What time is it?”

  “Daniela, it’s nine o’clock in the morning.”

  “Dad!” She shot bolt upright in bed, her eyes wide open. She glanced at the clock again. Four a.m. “It’s actually four in the morning here. Is something wrong?”

  “Not at all. I just thought I’d give you a call. Is that a problem?”

  “Not at all. It’s just unusual. Normally, you have Susan call me.”

  “I noticed that you checked out of the hotel, and I wondered if there was a problem.”

  Finn sighed. She should have guessed that someone would have their eye on those little details. “No, Dad. I’ve been spending a lot of time with some friends over here and it just made more sense to stay here. We weren’t utilizing the hotel so it made no sense to spend the money just to leave our bags there.” The silence hung in the air. Shit, he knows I’m lying. Always does. I am the world’s crappiest liar ever.

  “That’s fine, Daniela. You must let me know where you’re staying, however.”

  “Sure, it’s sixteen—”

  He cut her off. “I’ll have Susan call you to get the details from you. I must go now. I have a meeting shortly.”

  “Bye—” The line went dead. “Dad.” She threw herself back against the pillow and smacked the phone to her head. She knew Susan wouldn’t call until just before she was leaving the office to make it around lunchtime for Finn. She was kind that way. Finn had never figured out why she worked for her father.

  Since sleep was out of the question, she switched on the bedside lamp and grabbed one of her diving books, intent on reading until she felt ready to go back to sleep. But as the cooling sheets covered her body again, memories tugged at the edges of her mind.

  Every scene was different. The school nativity aged five. The nanny came to watch that one. And every event after that, from school plays to graduation, included some employee of her father’s paid to attend. But never her father.

  Every memory had the same constant, lingering empty space. The empty space where a parent should have been, filled with a seemingly endless stream of interchangeable strangers.

  She folded over the corner of the page and placed the book on the nightstand, knowing full well she would have to read the passage again, having taken in nothing for the past half hour. She looked at the clock beside the bed, the dark red numbers burning into her brain as she turned out the light, closed her eyes, and watched as the digits changed in her mind. 4:30. 4:31. 4:32. 4:33.

  Her thoughts drifted slowly away from the loneliness, coming to rest on Oz. What was it that made her so sure she could depend on her? A track record for one-night stands and holiday flings? About as likely as Pete, based on that history.

  A cocky smile and a killer kiss. What a kiss, though.

  She touched her fingertips to her lips, needing to feel the pressure against her skin, the tactile reminder of the desire and pleasure as Oz had kissed her good night, and tenderly caressed her skin. She had longed for it to never end even as her breath faltered and she had to pull away.

  I want her. Does it need to be more than that? Even as she posed the question to herself, she knew the answer. She wasn’t naïve, and she wanted people to take her seriously. And she needed to take her own desires seriously now.

  She knew the reason she had waited was more about making sure she could depend on her lover. She needed to know that the woman she loved would be there for all those silly little occasions that meant everything and nothing. The next birthday. And the one after. And the next fifty. Moving homes. Holidays. Laughter. Tears. A hug.

  She needed someone to want to be part of those things for her, who wanted to hold her through tears of joy and pain. She needed someone who wanted to watch her sleep, just to be near her. She wanted someone who would bring her tissues when she had a cold, and flowers just because it would make her smile. Just one person in her life, one woman was all she wanted. Not an interchangeable face for each different occasion. She already had a lifetime filled with that, and all she wanted now was one face to memorize for the rest of her life. One face to be with hers in every photograph, accompanying each memory for the rest of her life. She needed one face beneath her fingertips, and one mouth to kiss, one single body to know, better than she knew her own. And just one person beside her, beneath her, above her, one person inside her skin. All she want
ed was one single name on her lips. She would wait for that person.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Finn was sitting on the porch swing reading as Oz approached. Finn had on a pair of charcoal gray shorts and a pale blue tank top. Her bare feet were slapping on the tiled floor as she swung back and forth, humming to herself. Oz leaned against the rail and smiled.

  “You’ve been shopping.” She placed a gentle kiss against Finn’s neck. “I definitely like the new disguise.”

  “I’m glad. I was aiming for lesbian-in-training. My other top has the letter L embroidered on it.”

  Oz chuckled. “I think that’s a look that could take off. We’ll start a new trend at Pearl’s. Do you have any plans, or can I tempt you to join me for the day?”

  “I was only going to do some reading. What do you have in mind?”

  “It’s a surprise, but it’s beautiful where we’re going so you might want to grab your camera.”

  “Sure, I’ll go get it. Emmy’s in the kitchen if you want to say hello.”

  “I’ll just wait for you here, if that’s okay?”

  “Sure.” Finn hurried inside and Oz could hear her telling Mrs. Richmond that she was going out. When she returned, Oz couldn’t resist pulling her in close for a long, lingering kiss.

  “We have a small errand to run on the way out there.”

  “Okay.” Finn followed her back to her car and settled in for the ride, a slight frown marring her brow.

  Oz started the car and pulled away from the curb. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “You’re frowning. We don’t have to go out if you don’t want to.”

  “I do want to. I was just thinking. That’s all.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Not really, but it might help.” She shrugged. “My dad called me this morning. At four in the morning to be precise.”

  “Is something wrong?” Oz knew a call at four a.m. was never a good thing.

  “He said everything was fine and he didn’t seem to realize the time difference. I find that hard to believe since so much of his business is international.”

  “So what did he want then?”

  “He said he was just checking in on me. He knew that Pete and I weren’t staying at the hotel anymore. He seemed concerned.” She snorted.

  “You don’t believe that?”

  “No. I don’t.”

  “Why not? He’s your dad.”

  Finn shrugged. “He was never there.”

  Oz waited, knowing that Finn needed to tell her in her own time. She worked to keep her face neutral, her own disgust and suspicion of the man growing with everything she learned about him.

  “He never seemed to remember he had a child. I was left to a series of nannies, tutors, and various other staff members to be looked after. They made sure I had everything I needed, as you can imagine. Daddy’s money always bought the best. Best clothes, schools, coaches. Whatever. But they were all employees. You know?”

  Oz smiled sadly. “Not really.”

  “They all took care of me because it was their job. He’s my dad, but he never was. More like an open checkbook.”

  “So today’s phone call was really unusual?”

  “Very. I actually can’t remember the last time he called me. It’s usually his secretary who calls and passes a message or something.”

  “So what do you really think it was about?” She watched as Finn chewed her lip, clearly debating whether or not to say any more.

  “I think he knows that Pete’s gone and he was trying to find out if I knew the reasons why.”

  “What do you mean? I thought you said it was always the plan that Pete would go back to the UK?”

  “It was. There’s just a lot more to it. I think part of the reason Pete pushed me to stay in the States was so that I was away from my father when things get complicated.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Finn sighed heavily. “Pete told you he had a new job to go back to, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, what he didn’t tell me until he was leaving is that the job is with MI6.”

  “Wow. He must be very proud, but I still don’t understand what that has to do with your dad. I thought you were convinced he’d fire Pete anyway?”

  “He would. Pete was recruited to MI6 by this Pritchard guy because they’re investigating my dad, and I think Pete by extension. It seemed like Pete didn’t have much choice about going to work for Pritchard, to be honest.”

  “Why is MI6 investigating your dad?”

  “Pete said they were looking at money laundering and that he has proof that it’s going on and that my dad knows about it.”

  “Wow. And you think your dad is trying to find out how much you know?”

  Finn shrugged. “It’s the only thing that makes sense to me. He never calls me, so why now? What’s different?”

  Oz felt the cold grip of guilt, knowing she should tell Finn that she had her own file on her father. She knew she should share her suspicions, but the look of confusion and anguish in Finn’s eyes made her keep quiet. She wanted to take the pain away for her, to help heal the wounds written so clearly on Finn’s face. She wanted to weep for the child that had been left alone, and protect the tender heart that was still evident in Finn. She tried to figure out the consequences of keeping the damaging things she knew to herself, but the situation stayed murky. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, frustrated and worried.

  “Can we change the subject, please? There’s nothing I can do about any of it, and I’d really just like to forget about it all for a while. Enjoy spending the day with you. And who knows, maybe we can talk about you for a change.”

  “Sure.”

  “So where are you taking me?”

  “Well, we’re going to the mall first. I need to pick up a few things, and then I thought I’d take you kayaking on the Everglades.”

  “Wow. Tell me about the Everglades, then.”

  “The Everglades was called the River of Grass by the Native Americans who lived in Florida. It’s about eleven thousand square miles of slow moving water that creates all these ponds, wetlands, swamps, and mangroves, as well as some forest areas too. It’s a huge refuge for wildlife and has some species unique to the area, and some more that are endangered and others still that are just plain spectacular. It’s like a patchwork quilt of different habitats. It’s amazing. One part of it is called ten thousand islands, for obvious reasons.” Oz pulled into the parking lot at the Dolphin Mall and turned off the engine.

  “You can come with me or wait here. It’s up to you. I’m only going to one store, but these places have a habit of swallowing me whole. I may need you to rescue me.”

  Finn was already out the door.

  “I guess you’re coming with me.”

  “I can’t have you getting lost. So what shop are we heading for?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Oz led them through the labyrinth of stores and kiosks to a camera store specializing in underwater camera equipment. Finn barely seemed to notice as Oz led her inside. She seemed awestruck by the sheer size of the store.

  “Don’t they have malls in England?”

  “We have the Trafford Centre Mall in Manchester. But that’s maybe half the size of this.”

  Oz chuckled and left her looking around at the cameras while she made her way to the counter.

  “Hey, I’m Olivia Zuckerman. I have some items reserved.”

  “The Ikelite 6801.70 underwater housing for a Nikon D7000. The lens port and strobe light are also in there. I’ve also included the arm and cables for the strobe light, a spare set of O-rings and some silicone, so it should all be good to go.” Oz paid for her purchases quickly and found Finn staring into one of the cabinets.

  “You ready?”

  “I think I should talk to these guys about my camera case.”

  “Why don’t you speak to Juanita? She’ll probably be abl
e to get you a discount or something.” Oz headed for the door, smiling as Finn followed grumbling under her breath.

  “Come on.”

  “You know it was cruel taking me in there don’t you?”

  Oz climbed back into the car and waited until Finn had fastened her seatbelt before she handed the bag to her. “This is for you.”

  “What is it?”

  “You won’t know until you open it.” Oz grinned as Finn pulled open the bag and started to lift out the boxes inside. She stared, slack-jawed, as she peered at the unopened boxes. “Do you like it?”

  Finn nodded her head slowly, tears filling her eyes. “But I can’t accept this, Oz. It’s too much.”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  “Oz, the housing alone costs more than a thousand pounds. That’s more like two thousand dollars, and the rest…it’s too much.”

  “Finn, I can afford it. There are some things I need to explain about all that, but I can afford to do this. I’ve seen you under the water. Did you know that your fingers twitch when you see something amazing? It’s like you’re trying to take the picture even without the camera there. You want to be able to capture all those things, and this will let you do that. Then you can show me all the wonderful pictures you’ll take, and I can enjoy it too.”

  “How can you afford this?”

  Oz blew out a long breath and ran her fingers through her hair.

  “Well, when I was in the navy, I lived in the barracks or with my parents. I was at sea a lot so I lived really cheap. I saved almost every penny I earned and made some good investments, and when I decided to get out, I really wanted to work for myself. I didn’t like the idea of taking orders from anyone else.” She threw a small grin in Finn’s direction. “Anyway, long story short. The dive center, the boats, they’re all mine, and they’re all paid for. I don’t like all the paperwork, so Rudy runs the office for me. I also like just being one of the guys, so they don’t know that I’m actually Rudy’s boss. It sounds complicated, but really, we’ve never had any problems. Rudy phrases questions like he’s asking for my opinion in front of the guys, or just makes the decision and we deal with it later. He’s a really great guy. Anyway, that’s how I afford the house and how I can afford to do this for you. Please.” Finn still looked skeptical. “Technically, I am your boss, so I could insist on it and make you take pictures for work.” The words froze on her lips as Finn stretched over and kissed her.