Trails Merge

by Rachel Spangler

  “And now?” Parker’s teasing lilt suggested that she knew the answer but wanted to make her say it anyway.

  “Like I want—” Campbell choked on her own excitement. “I want you to make me come.”

  Parker’s only reply was the broad strokes of her tongue at Campbell’s very center. Campbell’s breathing immediately grew quick and shallow, and she clutched the sheets to steady her body as she arched up to meet Parker’s mouth. Her pleasure built quickly despite the fact that she had already come once that evening, and she rocked her hips with the insistent strokes of Parker’s tongue. In less than a minute the only sound she heard was the roar of her own throbbing pulse. She wanted to make the feeling last, but her control crumbled under Parker’s persistent caresses.

  Closing her eyes, Campbell surrendered fully to Parker, opening herself as the first tremors of her climax rushed over her. She rode the excruciatingly beautiful sensation to its peak and exhaled slowly as the high subsided.

  Parker returned to her side and whispered, “Now what are you feeling?”

  “Satisfied.” Campbell slipped her arm around Parker’s shoulder and drew her close.

  “Well, then,” Parker said playfully, “I can honestly say you’re not the only one who feels that way.”

  *

  “Campbell.” Parker sat up in bed. “We overslept.”

  “What?” Campbell asked frantically as if trying to understand what had happened. “What time is it? I was supposed to be in the groomer at five o’clock.”

  “It’s almost nine.” Parker jumped out of bed, searching for her clothes as she mentally ran through her to-do list. “We’ve got a staff meeting.”

  “Oh, God.” Campbell grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor and pulled them on in one motion as she stood.

  “I’ve got to get home to shower and change,” Parker thought aloud. “Where’s my bra?”

  Campbell found the bra under the comforter that had been pushed to the floor during their lovemaking, then opened her closet and picked a long-sleeved polo at random. “You don’t have time. The meeting is in ten minutes. Wear something of mine.”

  Parker stopped to consider the idea. Campbell’s clothing would be too big for her, but it could work. She’d never make it if she went home first, and since she was supposed to run the meeting, being late wasn’t an option. “All right. Do you have any slacks?”

  “Sure.” Campbell pulled a pair of black slacks off a hanger and then sized up several of her tops. “This maroon one should fit you best.” She handed Parker a cable-knit sweater.

  Parker hastily pulled on the clothes, then ran her hands through her hair before turning to the mirror. The pants were too long, but with her high heels from the night before, they were passable. The sweater was a bit too big in the shoulders and small across the chest, but it would to have to do until later.

  “You’re beautiful,” Campbell said, making eye contact with Parker in the mirror. She had tucked her hair behind her ears and covered it with a U of W baseball cap. She was smiling, and her blue eyes sparkled. In the chaos of the last few minutes, Parker had almost forgotten that she’d woken up in Campbell’s bed, but staring at their reflection, she felt a rush of happiness. They made a beautiful couple.

  “Let’s do this better tomorrow, okay?” Parker kissed Campbell on the lips. “I want to take the time to wake you up right.”

  “That sounds nice,” Campbell murmured, then returned the kiss. “Let’s go back to bed and do it now?”

  “I’d love to,” Parker laughed, “but we’ve got a meeting with your entire family in less than five minutes.” They headed for the door.

  As they entered the part of the lodge that held the offices and meeting spaces, they kissed each other thoroughly one more time. A few feet from the open door to the conference room Parker overheard Janelle say, “They were awfully cozy when they left last night.”

  “And Parker’s car was still in the parking lot this morning,” Emery added.

  “Hush,” Irene said. “Maybe Parker came to work early.”

  Parker flushed as realized they were debating whether she and Campbell had spent the night together. Campbell appeared to be genuinely embarrassed and was so cute that Parker gave her a reassuring smile. She couldn’t have Campbell without including the entire Carson family, and she didn’t know if that prospect was charming or irritating.

  Reluctantly, she let go of Campbell’s hand as they entered the room. Everyone stood to greet them and wish them a happy new year. She was surprised that when she reached Irene, she hugged her. The Carson matriarch had always seemed to respect Parker’s personal space, but as she released her she gave Parker a conspiratorial smile and said, “That sweater is lovely on you.”

  When everyone settled down, Parker took her seat next to Campbell and whispered, “Did your mother get you this sweater?”

  Campbell’s expression was quizzical. “Yeah, for Christmas last year. Why?”

  “We’ve been caught,” Parker said, mildly embarrassed. She rested her hand above Campbell’s knee under the table reassuringly. She wasn’t ashamed to have made love to Campbell, and while she wouldn’t have chosen to broadcast her love life to the entire mountain, she wouldn’t deny it either.

  Suddenly she noticed Greg scowling at her from across the table. Perhaps her relief had come too soon. The one downside to the Carson family was her ongoing conflict with Campbell’s father. Now she wasn’t just tied to him through business, but also through her relationship with his daughter. His quiet disdain was an unsettling contrast to the reception she’d received from the rest of the family. She understood why he would be protective of his daughter, but this wasn’t a typical doting-father reaction. He looked like he wanted to strangle her. Parker wondered what she had done to evoke such loathing.

  “We should get started.” Parker collected herself and focused on the meeting. She opened a binder she’d grabbed out of her office on the way in and scanned the event itinerary. “Members of the Chicago Women’s Democratic Caucus should arrive tomorrow afternoon. We’ll have an informal reception that night. Then we get into the full conference schedule the next day, with lessons every two hours. We’ll offer light dining options and a bar in the lounge until one in the morning. That’s the standard schedule for the next three days, with bulk checkout on Friday afternoon.” Parker finished the schedule review. “How does everybody feel about that?”

  The Carsons assured her everything was taken care of, and she didn’t doubt that it was. The Carson family, for all their casualness, rarely missed a detail. Whether their attention to minutiae came from living where they worked, or loving what they did, Parker didn’t worry about their meeting the needs of their guests. In fact, if anyone had anything to be anxious about, it was her, but her concerns weren’t related to her job.

  As the conversations went on around her, she considered the fact that in one day she would have to face the people who had witnessed her biggest failure. Alexis would be here, of course, but so would other staffers who had seen her fall from grace. So would the woman who had shaken her foundation. One day after allowing herself to open up to the possibility of intimacy again, she would confront the ultimate reminder of what could happen when she believed in someone else. A wave of nausea swept over her. Mia was coming to Bear Run.

  “Parker?” A question from Emery brought her back to the meeting. “Do you need anything else from us?”

  “No,” Parker replied absentmindedly. “Everything will work out just fine.” She wasn’t sure if that comment was meant to reassure her or the others, but she hoped it sounded more convincing to them than it did to her.

  With the official business out of the way, the meeting wrapped quickly. Holidays were busy on the slopes, and everyone except Greg rushed off. He sat quietly, glaring at her.

  Parker had hoped to put off a confrontation with him until after the conference, but the tension in the room was too much for her to bear. She snapped, “What’s the mat
ter now, Greg? You don’t like the conference schedule? You don’t like the way I do my job? Or you just don’t like me?”

  “I don’t like the way you and my daughter look at each other,” Greg stated flatly, his eyes full of anger. “You’re just like the last woman who broke her heart, and I won’t stand by and let that happen again.”

  Parker was shocked at the force of his statement. “I have no idea what you mean, but I would never intentionally hurt Campbell.”

  “The first time she brought Lynn home, I knew she was trouble. She spent her whole time here complaining about not having a cell-phone signal and made Campbell leave early so she could get back to her fax machine. We weren’t good enough for her. Our home wasn’t good enough for her. Every visit after that got shorter until they stopped coming home altogether. Campbell missed holidays and birthdays and football games because Lynn wanted her all to herself. She couldn’t take it that Campbell cared for something other than her. By the end she had her convinced that she had to choose between being loved and being with her family. I don’t know why, but I think she still feels that way, like she doesn’t deserve both.”

  “I’m sorry for all the hurt she caused Campbell,” Parker said sincerely. “She wouldn’t be Campbell if she wasn’t on this mountain. Anyone who loved her would understand that.”

  “I’m glad you realize it, but forgive me if I don’t trust you to do right by her. You’ve made it clear you see our family and our way of life as beneath you, just like Lynn did. We’re just some temporary safe haven for you, yet you still dragged my daughter into something with no intention of sharing your life with her. I don’t like it, and I want you to leave her alone.”

  “Now, wait a minute.” Parker could understand a protective father, but she wasn’t about to give up her relationship with Campbell. “Your daughter is a grown woman, and so am I. I didn’t drag Campbell into anything, and I’ll be damned if you’re going to rule my life.”

  “So you’re just going to use her while it’s convenient and drop her when you find something better?” Greg was now speaking through clenched teeth. “Do you expect me to sit by and watch you hurt my child?”

  “I expect you to show Campbell and me a little respect,” Parker shouted, “and let us navigate our relationship in whatever direction we decide.”

  Campbell ran back into the room. “What’s going on? I could hear you two yelling all the way down the hall.”

  “You heard Parker yelling,” Greg said. “I never raised my voice.”

  “No, you just told me to stay away from your daughter.” Parker paced around her side of the conference table, too furious to stand still.

  “Dad? Please tell me you didn’t.”

  Greg sighed. “I don’t want to see you hurt again, and I told her that.”

  Campbell sighed. “I appreciate that—”

  “Appreciate it?” Parker could hardly believe her ears. Campbell was agreeing with him. “You appreciate him telling me off?”

  Campbell raised her hand. “You didn’t let me finish. I appreciate that he loves me and wants to protect me, but I knew what I was getting into. Dad, Parker has never misled me about her intentions.”

  “Thanks for the ringing endorsement,” Parker mumbled.

  “Come on, you’re both important to me,” Campbell told her. “Dad, can’t you make some kind of peace?”

  “I don’t like this, Cam,” Greg said, but his tone had softened.

  “I’m not asking you to. I’m just asking you to let me make this decision for myself. Can you do that?”

  “Of course I can,” Greg said. “I can’t stop worrying about you, but I’ll try to worry more quietly from now on, okay?”

  “Deal.” Campbell smiled at him, then turned to Parker.

  “Deal,” she said tersely, once again marveling at the way Campbell could calm her father.

  Greg left the room, and Campbell gave Parker her full attention. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Parker exhaled slowly, trying to gather her thoughts as she put loose papers back into her conference binder.

  “Are you sure?” Campbell sounded uncertain. “I know my family can be—”

  “No, baby, not your family. Just your father. I like most of your family. He’s the only one I can’t stand.”

  Hurt flashed across Campbell’s face. “I know he can be gruff, but he’s still my father.”

  “I realize that, but you don’t have to agree with him all the time.” Parker was pouting, but she couldn’t get over the way Greg had attacked their relationship.

  “I didn’t agree with him. I conceded a few of his points, but ultimately I agreed with yours, too.”

  Campbell’s levelheadedness frustrated Parker. “Why do you have to be so diplomatic? Why don’t you just tell him to butt out of your life?”

  “What part of ‘he’s my father’ don’t you understand?” Campbell snapped.

  Parker was taken aback by the anger in Campbell’s voice. She was obviously more upset than she had let on, and Parker’s sulking hadn’t helped the situation. “Hey, let’s just table this for now. We’ve both had a long night.”

  At that, Campbell’s expression softened noticeably.

  Parker continued. “We’ve got a big day ahead of us, too, and this argument won’t be resolved now anyway, so let’s save it for later.”

  “That’s probably for the best.” Campbell still seemed frazzled, but the tension was starting to fade from her expression.

  Parker hooked a finger through the belt loop in Campbell’s jeans and tugged her close. “I know this conflict is far from over, but no matter what happens with anyone else, just remember one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  Parker kissed Campbell on the lips, lingering a bit longer than she intended to before saying, “I adore you.”

  *

  Campbell felt like she could fall asleep standing up by the time she parked the groomer and climbed into her pickup. She had gotten only three hours of sleep the night before and worked without a break all day. She should go home and get some sleep. Still, she wasn’t surprised when she pulled into the parking lot of Parker’s condo complex.

  She hesitated at Parker’s door. It was eleven o’clock, and Parker might be asleep. Then again, after the fight with her father, Parker might not want to see her even if she was awake. Campbell knocked softly and held her breath, listening for a response from inside. Immediately the door swung open and Parker stood smiling in the doorway. She wore a pair of gray sweatpants and a NWU T-shirt, and her dark hair was slightly damp, as though she had recently gotten out of the shower. Campbell’s pulse quickened.

  “I was hoping you’d come over when you got off the slopes.” Parker led her inside. “Let me take your coat.”

  “That’s a warmer welcome than I expected.” Campbell stood still while Parker removed her ski jacket and tossed it over the back of the love seat.

  Parker sighed. “I have to admit I was pretty frustrated with you this morning,”

  “But you’re not now?”

  “I’m still fuming at your father’s attempt to come between us, and honestly I’m frustrated at your lack of outrage, but somehow having you so close does something to my short-term memory.”

  “Why’s that?” Campbell asked hopefully.

  “Because I’m having a hard time remembering why I should be mad at you, but I remember what you did to me last night very clearly.”

  Campbell smiled at the lust that clouded Parker’s eyes.

  “Don’t give me that rakish little grin,” Parker warned. “You’re not off the hook just because you’ve temporarily distracted me with your firm ass in those sexy ski pants.”

  “I’m sure I’ll pay dearly later,” Campbell said with mock seriousness, but she knew that was probably true. There would be consequences for her recklessness with Parker, and her heart would pay the price, but that would come later. Now was not the time to think of the future, or about the
wedge their relationship was driving between her and her father.

  Campbell enveloped Parker in an embrace and inhaled her scent, a simple pleasure she hadn’t realized she missed until that moment. “I’m exhausted. We’ve both got a lot on our minds, and I didn’t come over here to rehash all of that. I just wanted to see you.”

  “I’m glad you did.” Parker kissed her slowly, deeply. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

  “Me, too.” Campbell slipped her hands under the hem of Parker’s shirt, and the feel of bare skin kicked her libido into overdrive. She moved her fingers slowly upward, massaging Parker’s torso as she went. Their kiss grew more passionate with each second. When she realized Parker wasn’t wearing a bra, Campbell groaned into her mouth. She broke the kiss immediately and swiftly removed Parker’s shirt like a woman possessed. She had denied her need too long.

  She hadn’t meant for this to happen, at least not this quickly. She had intended for them to talk first. She wanted to know how Parker was feeling. She’d expected to talk about her father. She’d planned to ask about the conference. She was going to make sure Parker wasn’t nervous about seeing all her old colleagues again or uncomfortable about where their relationship was headed. She’d had the best of intentions when she walked through the door, but they all left her mind the minute she skimmed across the bare skin of Parker’s breasts.

  She laced her fingers through Parker’s long hair and drew her close once again, this time kissing along her jaw and down her throat. Parker threw back her head, exposing the slender curve of her neck for Campbell to nip and suck. Campbell let her mouth travel lower along her collarbone and then dipped to take one of Parker’s nipples between her lips and run her tongue across the tip. Parker moaned her approval and swayed slightly.

  Encouraged by the reaction of Parker’s body, Campbell worked her free hand beneath the waistband of Parker’s sweatpants and between her legs. The wetness she found broke the last bit of restraint she had clung to. She backed Parker against the wall and steadied her with an arm around the waist and a knee between her thighs. While Campbell continued to taste Parker’s breasts, she moved her fingers directly to Parker’s clit. She started quickly and then increased her pace. There was a time for patience, a time to tease, a time to take things slowly. Now was not that time.