High Risk

by JLee Meyer

  Kate automatically glanced around the room. The dining room had closed for breakfast an hour earlier and Kate had appeared only then. Since the hotel was in its shakedown phase, not many knew it was open. Apparently satisfied that no one was around, Kate met Laurel’s concerned gaze with the red-rimmed eyes of a woman who had been crying for a long time. Laurel waited, sensing something extraordinary was about to happen.

  “I think I’m in love.”

  There it was. Katie was in love. But why the stealth? Why the tears? She’d uttered those precious words like her announcement was a tragedy. Laurel suspected the answer but decided to proceed carefully.

  “Well, that’s wonderful, right?” Kate’s expression filled with raw anguish, and as much as she wanted to comfort her baby sister, she knew she had to wait for her to continue.

  After what seemed like a long time Kate sniffed loudly and met her gaze. “Tell me about Rochelle.”

  Laurel was speechless. This conversation had taken a decided turn. Was Kate actually asking her about her abusive ex-partner? Was someone hitting Kate? Why was this subject coming up now?

  After taking a breath, Laurel kept talking. “Remember the last time you visited Rochelle and me in Berkeley? When you wanted to get rid of your latest dating disaster and were afraid he’d get to the tabloids first?”

  Jerkily nodding, Kate shivered.

  “Rochelle always had a crush on you, always made a fool of herself when you were around. I knew she made you uncomfortable.” Laughing mirthlessly, Laurel added, “Her behavior was humiliating.”

  Kate took her hand and seemed to steel herself for the question she asked next. “Did that woman hurt you?”

  “Not then, at least not that much. But she escalated.” Laurel had automatically tried to shield Kate and not paint Rochelle in such stark colors. Perhaps she was still embarrassed that she’d chosen such a violent partner. But no longer. The next step was Kate’s. If she reacted like she always had, she’d simply accept that answer and move on.

  Kate took a breath and Laurel recognized the determination in her expression. “Tell me.”

  Quietly, with little inflection, Laurel released Kate’s hand and hugged herself as she went down that painful path. “She was jealous and possessive. She demeaned me when she could. I knew she was screwing around on me with students, but she told me I was worthless without her. At first, she contented herself with verbal abuse, but the more she drank and the more I stepped out from her shadow, the more physical she became.”

  “That bitch.” Kate was clenching her hands into fists.

  Laurel thought about reassuring her, but Kate had asked, and Laurel needed to finish this. “The day you were there she only shoved me and told me to never embarrass her again by implying she wasn’t welcome in our conversation. When she found out I had discovered papers that revealed the hotel’s past and kept them from her, she beat me. She didn’t even know about Stef.” Laurel smiled slightly, as if seeing her partner’s image in front of her.

  “This hotel, as ramshackle as it was then, was my refuge.” Laurel managed to gather herself. “The women here were my friends, and Stef was my salvation. I fell in love with her. Eventually I found the courage to tell Rochelle I was leaving. I thought she would kill me, Kate. I really did. I found my way back to the hotel and Stefanie, and that’s when my life really began.”

  By that time both of them were crying and hugging. Kate said, “Laur, I’m so sorry. I should have realized that if she creeped me out, she was even worse for you. I’ve been so absorbed in me for so long. I apologize.”

  Laurel wiped her nose with a napkin. “I guess, in the long run, it all worked out. I learned that I have to stand up for myself. And if anyone finds love, real love, she should grab it and hold on for dear life. She should never let anyone tell her who to be.”

  Laurel watched the anguish on Kate’s face ratchet up another level. “Kate, why did you want to know all that? Is someone hurting you?”

  Shaking her head, Kate said, “Laurel, I think I’m a lesbian.”

  They sat in silence for a moment. Finally, Laurel ventured, “You’re in love with Dasher Pate.”

  Kate’s head whipped around to meet her gaze. “How did you know?”

  “Well, did you open the package I sent with the proof sheets from the photo shoot? Some of them were, um, lens-fogging.”

  Nodding slowly, Kate reacted as if that question threatened to sever the final tendril that was keeping her from coming apart. She absently rubbed the flannel material of the shirt she’d worn every day since her arrival. Her eyes began to well.

  Laurel abruptly stood and took her hand. “Come on, not here. Let’s go to your room.”

  They hurried through the kitchen past a silent Sika Phelps, who stood chopping vegetables and seemed not to notice them. Laurel knew Sika never missed a thing and suspected she was merely giving Kate her own space.

  Once in the private elevator, Kate said, “I’ll bet Sika heard every word.”

  “Probably.” Laurel was preparing to assure her that Sika would never divulge anything, but Kate just nodded as if she already knew. Kate, who trusted so few, seemed to trust the women of the hotel, including Laurel.

  Laurel was surprised at how relieved she was to finally share that awful part of her life with Kate. And she was even more surprised, and gratified, that Kate had wanted to know.

  Once inside Kate’s suite, they sat down on the couch and Kate squeezed her hands together as if waiting to hear a prison sentence. Laurel waited because Kate had to be the one to say her own truth.

  “Ironically, I don’t even know if she loves me. I mean, Mom and Dad will be heartbroken, Joe will shoot me, my fans will disown me, my career is over, but all I’m worried about is if she loves me back. What a joke.”

  Okay, that was a beginning.

  “Kate, have you told her about your feelings for her?”

  “God, no. What if she laughed at me? What if she told all her friends what a fool I am? What if she—”

  “Told you she loves you, too?”

  Kate recoiled as though scalded. She stared at Laurel and then flopped back on the couch. “Oh my God. What if she does love me?”

  Noticing Kate’s cell phone vibrating across the coffee table and Kate regarding it guiltily, Laurel asked, “Does she know where you are?”

  Kate only shook her head, eyes riveted to the phone.

  “She must be worried.”

  That seemed to be all it took, because Kate leapt at the cell and answered it.

  “Hello? Oh, Joe. Yes, I’m out of town. I’m in San Francisco helping my sister. Don’t worry, Joe. I’ve handled all the interviews. No, I won’t be back for a while. I’ve got to go.” Laurel could hear him squawking at the other end as Kate ended the call.

  “When do you plan to fire that man?”

  Sighing, Kate said, “When I signed with him he told me I didn’t need to sign a contract sanctioned by the Screen Actors Guild because his was much better and, like a fool, I believed him. He’s got me until he releases me, period. Believe me, I’ve had attorneys look at the contract.”

  “Damn. And you signed with him because—”

  “Because Dasher Pate made me feel things I’d never experienced before and it scared the hell out of me. Because I’m an idiot. A fucking idiot. There, how’s that for a revelation?”

  “Has Dasher called you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you talked?”

  “No. I haven’t picked up.”

  Laurel sighed in frustration. “Kate. Figure out your relationship first, then worry about the rest. And I would strongly suggest you work this out with Dasher, not by imagining what she is or isn’t thinking.”

  Seeing the trepidation in Kate’s eyes, she added, “Buck up, little sis. You’re very brave. You can do this. I say so, and I’m your big sister.”

  Snorting, Kate gravely replied, “Yeah. You and Eleanor Roosevelt.”

  Judging by t
he look on Kate’s face, she thought Laurel should understand her strange statement. Laurel stuffed her question and kissed her on the top of her head, like she had when they were kids and she needed to calm her. “Are you going to call Dasher?”

  Kate picked up the phone and pressed a number she obviously knew by heart, then finally left a message for Dasher to call her and looked hopelessly at Laurel.

  Offering her hand, Laurel hefted Kate to her feet. “Come on, let’s go see if Stef needs us for anything, then maybe we can ditch work for a few hours.”

  Kate looked close to tears. “Thanks, sis. I think I need the distraction. I may have permanently screwed this up.”

  “Maybe not. At least you got the ball rolling.”

  They rode the elevator down in silence. Laurel was already planning a few errands they could run together when the doors opened on the ground floor.

  There, standing beside Stefanie, was Dasher Pate. Stef’s eyes went round, then she pulled Laurel out and gently shoved Dasher inside the lift. “Have fun.”

  The door closed with the two of them staring at one another.

  Laurel turned to Stef. “How?”

  “I sent her a text message.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I knew if Kate was this miserable, Dasher had to be.”

  “But Kate just told me she was in love with Dasher. How did you—?”

  Sighing theatrically, Stefanie said, “She’s your sister, Laur. For all of her worldly ego stuff, she’s a lot like you. Five years ago Dasher told me about a woman who broke her heart. Then Kate marches in with some cockamamie story about meeting Dasher five years before. Oh, and I have eyes.”

  The silence that followed made Stefanie fidget, but Laurel wanted a minute to appreciate what her thoughtful partner had just done. Finally, Laurel gave her a ghost of a grin. “Well, at least this way they’ll finally know, without the prying eyes of the paparazzi.”

  “Honey, you do realize that if this thing goes south, we’ve probably lost our star for opening night. And I’ll have lost a good friend in Dasher and my future sister-in-law, whom I was beginning to like.”

  Stef seemed lost in doubt when Laurel abruptly pinned her to the wall beside the elevator and covered her face with kisses. She returned the favor but finally held her back and asked, “So I’m forgiven?”

  “Did you just propose?” Laurel waited, wanting to know for sure if she had heard the words correctly.

  “Well I…I…think I did. Wow, that was easy.” Stef seemed astounded at what she’d just said. “But it feels right, Laurel. Will you? Marry me?”

  Laurel got very close to Stef’s ear and whispered, “Yes.”

  Stef turned Laurel around so she could ring for the elevator. As they rode up to their suite, she said, “Sometimes it’s the reply that makes a question perfect.”

  *

  Kate slid the key through the lock, receiving a green light as the lock disengaged. With Dasher standing just behind her she had the sensation that time had slowed and noises had intensified. The lock had the report of a cannon.

  “Come in.” Her voice was definitely shaky, and she was having a difficult time not trembling. Taking a few steps, she turned to see Dasher still in the doorway looking very unsure of herself. “Dasher, I can’t do this alone. Either come in or leave.”

  Kate blinked, and when she opened her eyes, the door was closed and Dasher was within kissing distance. Kate had resolved to have that talk before she could even contemplate touching. She well knew what happened when she had any type of physical contact with Dasher. Her mind was hopping around like a disturbed monkey at this point, but if she felt Dasher’s skin, all bets were off. She had to be rational about this.

  Dasher obviously failed to read her mind because she tentatively raised her hand and ran her thumb the length of Kate’s eyebrow, then cupped her face in her strong hands. The hands that Kate had fantasized about since their campout.

  She melted into the touch, memorizing the incredible feel of their warmth. She was so absorbed in that moment that when Dasher’s lips grazed hers she gasped and her eyes flew open to drown in the gray-blue depths that invited her. “Oh!”

  “I want more than a kiss.” Dasher’s voice was husky, her fingers telegraphing the slightest tremble.

  Kate searched her face for deception, her eyes for a look she knew well. Too often her suitors had wanted the exterior, not caring at all about the person she was inside. She saw none of that. What she did see made her heart hammer in her chest, probably because all her blood was draining to another pulse point.

  “What do you want, Dasher? Who are you looking for?” She held her breath, waiting for something she’d never experienced before.

  “I want you, Kate. I’m looking for you. Only you.”

  Their lips met in astounding softness, and their tongues touched in a delicate dance that stole her breath. She slid her arms around Dasher’s neck and pulled her into a deep embrace, broken only by her need to take a breath.

  “Dasher, I’ve never done this with a woman before. I’ve thought of it, but never—”

  “We don’t have to do anything.”

  Kate was at once relieved and irritated. And aroused—undeniably, horribly, wonderfully aroused. “The hell we don’t. Dasher Pate, if you don’t touch me right now I’ll never speak to you again. I mean it.”

  She was about to launch into a diatribe when Dasher swept her into her arms, marched her into the bedroom, and tossed her on the bed. She removed her jacket, the one Kate remembered from the photo shoot. Kate watched as she shed her shoes, then turned and gently took Kate’s off as well.

  Dasher climbed in the bed and lay beside her. She ran her fingers along the sleeve of the shirt Kate was wearing.

  “I wondered what had happened to this shirt. I hoped you had it.”

  Kate knew she was probably blushing, but she told the truth. “I’ve only been out of this shirt to shower since I’ve been up here. I needed it.”

  Dasher smiled tenderly. “Then it’s yours. Anything I have is yours.”

  She pulled Kate on top of her. They regarded each other silently, then Dasher reversed their positions and her weight on Kate was exhilarating. It was as though all these years Kate had been afloat, aimlessly drifting through space, and now she was tethered and grounded.

  The kisses started slowly, languorously. First her lips, her eyes, her ears. Oh, her ears. By the time Dasher reached her neck, Kate was squirming.

  “Dasher, please.” At that moment Dasher ground her pelvis into Kate’s, and that did it. Kate was accustomed to acting passionate for a film, but suddenly her clothes were too tight and she had to feel Dasher next to her, skin to skin.

  She pulled Dasher’s shirt from her jeans, and the two of them scrambled out of their clothes within seconds. Dasher stopped the moment they were both naked and stared reverently at Kate. Her eyes shone as she said, “My God, Kate. You are so lovely.”

  Immediately shy, Kate said, “Oh, Dash, if you’ve seen any of my films you’ve probably seen most of it before.” She’d done a few topless shots at Joe’s urging and they were circulated endlessly on the Internet. She hated that.

  “No. That was the actress. I want only you.”

  Those words melted Kate’s bones and flooded her with emotion. Dasher eased Kate back on the bed and settled between her legs, tentatively at first. She must have felt Kate’s wetness because her breath caught and her pupils darkened. They kissed again, this time not holding back. She moved to torture each nipple with her tongue and teeth and worshipped them by pulling them into her mouth.

  Kate had never enjoyed men touching her breasts, perhaps because that seemed to be all they thought about, that and bragging to their buddies that they had “nailed” Kate Hoffman. But when Dasher’s lips touched her nipples, she arched toward her for more.

  Kate felt Dasher’s passion when she dripped on her clitoris, and that only took her higher. She reached between them and almost came
when she felt how swollen and wet Dasher was. Had she done this? Was the passion just for Kate?

  “Kate, I can’t hold off if you do that. It’s been so long.” Dasher was panting and held herself up and back.

  “I don’t want you to hold back. Ever.” She was almost desperate to have this moment, as though it might be their only one. She stroked the swollen flesh, then plunged inside this beautiful woman she knew she loved. She wanted their first time together to begin with her pleasuring Dasher.

  Dasher stilled, then curled forward and shook. “Katie!” Then she pumped repeatedly onto Kate’s hand and Kate watched, drunk with power of a very different kind than she had ever known. The intoxication came from making Dasher feel these things, from knowing that her love had caused Dasher to crash into oblivion.

  Dasher collapsed onto Kate and Kate held her, tears of joy in her eyes. Finally, Kate knew what falling in love was all about, was certain that she was in love with Dasher.

  After a few moments, Dasher began to trace a trail down Kate’s stomach with her tongue and Kate thought about telling her to stop. But Dasher parted her and stroked the length of her before taking her swollen clitoris in her mouth to tug and suck on it. Her fingers slipped inside and then she used the tip of her tongue to assault the head of Kate’s clit. Just before Kate came she managed to look down at Dasher, and what she saw in her eyes filled her with so much emotion she stopped worrying that Dasher might not return her love. Then Kate lost her mind.

  They continued making love until the early morning hours when, exhausted, they fell asleep. After a short time Kate slipped out of bed and found her phone she’d vaguely registered vibrating on the table the night before. The text message was from Joe Alder.

  I’ll ruin you both if you screw that cunt. You know I can do it. Get your ass back here.

  Tears streamed down her face as she sat alone in a corner of the sofa, trying to think of a way to save Dasher from Alder’s viciousness. Leaving seemed to be her only option, but that seemed impossible now.