Romance By The Book

by Jo Victor

  The guard dropped the radio and reached for the Taser on her hip. “Don’t move. Hands up.”

  A much-too-cheery voice announced, “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We are ready to begin boarding for British Airways flight—”

  Afternoon. “No!” Cam whirled around, spotting a monitor nearby. The time showed 12:01. And Alex’s flight was no longer listed.

  The next thing Cam knew she was being tackled by what felt like an entire rugby team of very angry players. She went limp. Ordinarily her instinct would be to fight, or at least protect herself, but not now. Nothing mattered now. Alex was gone.

  They dragged her to her feet and hustled her over to the nearest wall. Responding to barked instructions, she raised her hands and spread her legs as they patted her down. She knew what was coming next—handcuffs, an interrogation, probably an arrest. She tried to care but couldn’t manage it.

  “What are you doing to her? Leave her alone!”

  Alex. It couldn’t be. But even as Cam’s brain protested, her body reacted.

  She spun around so fast she caught security off guard, and before they could get hold of her again she had taken a step or two forward, just far enough for Alex to reach her and throw her arms around her, but only for a moment.

  “You!” It was the blond guard again, but she was talking to Alex, not Cam. Her tone was exasperated but her eyes had softened to the point where she looked almost human. “I should have guessed you’d be involved somehow. Stand down, lads.”

  “Nice to see you again too, Officer,” said Alex.

  One of the other guards said, “Don’t tell me this is the one that was smuggling the Holy Grail or Excalibur or whatever it was.”

  “I wasn’t smuggling,” said Alex, a little too forcefully, and the other guards took a step closer.

  “Easy,” Cam murmured.

  “It’s all right, lads,” said the blonde. “I’ve got this.” The rest of the guards dispersed, not without a few backward glances, leaving the three of them standing there.

  Alex said, “Really, haven’t we been over this? It was all a harmless mistake, as I’ve explained—many times—and as the people from the Foundation confirmed. Once you finally called them.” Her tone was actually reasonable now, and surprisingly, the guard didn’t seem to take offense at this bit of cheek. And was she cruising Alex?

  None too pleased, Cam whispered in Alex’s ear, “What have you been up to?”

  In an undervoice, she muttered, “I was about to ask you the same damn question. Now shut up. Dear.” To the guard, she said, “Clearly there has been another misunderstanding. This is Cam Carter, a, uh, consultant with the Foundation. Obviously, the Foundation sent her to retrieve the artifact that accidentally ended up in my possession.”

  “Obviously,” said the guard, almost smiling. “And Ms. Carter’s refusal to comply with security procedures would be down to…?”

  “Devotion to duty. She really loves her job.”

  The woman glanced briefly at their joined hands. “So I see. Ms. Carter, may I take it that your emergency is now over?”

  “Yes, absolutely. I’m sorry about all the excitement.”

  “May I suggest that now that you’ve retrieved the item that you value so highly, you take it back where it belongs?” This time, she really did smile.

  Cam smiled back. “I’ll see to it straight away. Come on, Alex, let’s go.”

  Alex had thought she was utterly exhausted, thanks to the overly generous hospitality of the Leeds Airport security force that she had spent most of the morning enjoying, but now she felt amazing. She knew she must have the same goofy grin plastered on her face that Cam did, and she knew everybody was probably staring at them, but with Cam’s hand still tight in hers, she didn’t care a bit, and she doubted Cam did either.

  Her logical mind tried to tell her that there was no reason to be so happy, just because she had missed her flight and Cam had come to the airport to find her. She told her logical mind to shut the hell up as she floated through the time it took to retrieve her things, rescue Cam’s van from some very unhappy parking officials, and start the drive home, barely letting go of Cam’s hand long enough to get into the van and buckle up before she grabbed it again.

  Too soon, however, Cam pointed out that she really needed both hands to operate the vehicle, so Alex had to content herself with resting one hand on Cam’s thigh. Unfortunately, the seats were too far apart for her to put her head on Cam’s shoulder, so she turned sideways as much as the seat belt would allow and sat gazing at her, mile after mile.

  Eventually of course, her hand started to go exploring. She was enjoying watching the red flush creep up Cam’s neck when Cam finally grabbed her hand, growling, “Do you want us to end up in a ditch, lass? Have a heart.” The lapse in concentration made them swerve, and it took a few curse-accented moments for Cam to get the vehicle back under control.

  She glanced at Alex and swore again, turning abruptly off the road onto a lane that ran between high stone walls on either side. It looked barely wide enough for one vehicle. As soon as the lane broadened out a little, she pulled over onto the shoulder, turned off the engine, and unbuckled her seat belt.

  At first she didn’t move, but the hungry look in her eyes made Alex shiver all over. Then Cam launched herself across the space between them. As Cam scrambled over the gearshift, Alex had just enough presence of mind to unfasten her own seat belt, and then Cam was on her, kneeling over her, grabbing her head in both hands and devouring her mouth.

  As the need for Alex consumed her, Cam had one tiny flash of sanity, registering just how uncomfortable it was being crammed into the position she was in and hoping she wasn’t crushing Alex, but then her brain shut down completely and she gave herself up to the feel of Alex, warm and present and real, the scent of her, the taste of her, the heat of her mouth. Alex was hers, right there, right then, and nothing else mattered.

  Cam couldn’t stop kissing her. Never wanted to stop. It was just too good. Alex had hold of her shirt collar, tugging on it as if she wanted to pull her closer, to kiss her harder, if that was even possible. She felt Alex’s hands slide down the front of her shirt, squeezing her breasts for a moment, almost too hard, then move lower, unfastening her trousers. Then Alex was touching her, insistent fingers gliding and stroking over her flesh. It was so good, so good. The pleasure built and built and then Alex was inside her and Cam was yelling against Alex’s mouth as the top of her head came off.

  Alex felt Cam break away from the kiss. As Cam buried her face in Alex’s neck, breathing hard, Alex cradled the back of her head and ran her fingers gently through her hair as if to soothe her, even as she kept stroking with her other hand, drawing little shudders of pleasure from Cam, hoping to build her to another peak.

  But apparently Cam had other ideas. She reached down and put a hand over Alex’s, gently easing her away. Alex tried to protest, but Cam raised her head and grinned at her.

  “My turn, love,” she said and kissed Alex softly. Then she opened the door of the van and maneuvered herself over Alex and out of the vehicle with more speed than grace. Somehow she managed to extricate herself without kneeing Alex anywhere, but at the last moment something went wrong and she fell, landing with a grunt on her butt, right beside the open door.

  Alex couldn’t help giggling. “Oh, sweetheart, I never dreamed it could be like this with you,” she simpered, but then the deflated look on Cam’s face registered and she tried to assume a more sober expression. “Are you all right?”

  “Well enough.” She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, looking up at Alex with a wry smile. “Nothing broken but the mood. It seems to be my day for ending up on the ground.”

  “I guess you just can’t help falling for me, can you?” Alex said as she climbed out and sat on the ground beside Cam. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” She put an arm around Cam’s shoulders. “Seriously, are you really all right? I almost lost my mind when I saw those guards a
ll over you. I ran over as fast as I could.”

  Cam kissed her cheek. “I’m sure I’ve the odd bruise or two, but honestly, the moment I heard your voice, everything bad went right away. I thought I’d lost you for good, and there you were. Here you are. It’s like a bloody miracle. What happened? And what was all that about smuggling?”

  Instead of answering, Alex reached into her blazer pocket and pulled out the key to the secret room. “After I set off the metal detector, I found this in my pocket.” She passed it to Cam.

  “Oh no.”

  “Oh yes. At first the guards thought it was a weapon and hustled me off to the nearest clean too-well-lighted place for a little third degree. Then, once they realized what it really was, they wanted to confiscate it—and it turns out everything they confiscate gets destroyed.” For some reason, Cam was frowning as she sat looking at the key, turning it over in her hand. “That blond guard just kept saying Regulations, miss like a goddamn parrot—she’s almost as hardheaded as you, and that’s hard to pull off.”

  When Cam didn’t smile in response, Alex started speaking faster. “I swear we almost came to blows before I finally got her to contact the Foundation. And when she did get it through her head that the key was a valuable historical artifact, I had to convince her I wasn’t trying to steal it.”

  Alex knew she was talking too much, but she couldn’t seem to stop. “After all, I couldn’t exactly tell her the truth—that a cat had somehow slipped it into my pocket, almost certainly at the instigation of a ghost. She’d have tossed me down the nearest oubliette and that would have been the end of me.”

  Finally Cam looked up, her expression grim. “So you only missed your flight by chance, then?” Her mouth twisted. “I thought you’d decided to stay.” She turned her head away.

  Chapter Thirty

  “Why do you care why I didn’t get on that plane?” Alex pulled her arm away and got to her feet. “I’m here now, aren’t I? A few minutes ago you seemed to think that was a pretty good thing—you used the word miracle, as I recall.”

  Cam stood up as well, wincing a little. “I did, didn’t I? More fool me.”

  “Don’t you dare lose your temper. It’s bad enough you disappearing on me after pulling that Dark Victory stunt. Off somewhere hiding, I suppose—” When Cam opened her mouth to protest, Alex stepped close enough to jab a forefinger at her chest. “Don’t interrupt me. And then the next time I see you, you’re being mauled by a bunch of security guards. Damn it, they could have really hurt you!”

  Instead of arguing, Cam put her arms around her and pulled her close. For a minute, Alex stayed stiff, resisting.

  “You’re right,” Cam murmured in her ear, and she let her body relax into the embrace. “I’ve been ten different kinds of a fool.” Cam kissed her neck and Alex put her arms around Cam’s waist.

  “Yes, you have.” She felt Cam smile against her skin. “Besides, all the key did was give me time, so instead of coming to my senses somewhere over the Atlantic, too late to do anything about it, I was sitting in the airport with hours and hours to think things through.” She leaned back enough to see Cam’s face. “Does it really matter how we got here, as long as we’re together?”

  “I don’t suppose it does.” Cam sighed. “I know I’ll regret asking, but what does Dark Victory have to do with anything?”

  “The ending.” Cam shook her head, clearly not comprehending. “You know, when Bette Davis realizes she’s dying and instead of telling her husband, she pretends she’s fine so he’ll go off to the meeting he’s supposed to be attending.”

  “I remember it. I just don’t see what it has to do with us.”

  “She does it because if he stays with her, he’ll miss a chance to work with other doctors trying to cure her disease.” Cam still looked confused. “She sends him away because she thinks his research is more important than their relationship.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh is right. The really bad part is that she does it because she doesn’t trust the person she loves to make their own decisions. In the movie it’s all gloriously tragic, but in real life it’s horrible.” She glared at Cam, who cringed—as well she might. “Just as well you weren’t around when I figured it all out. As it is, I’m still pretty mad.”

  “I’m sorry, lass. Honestly, I meant it for the best.”

  Alex hugged her close. “You are very much an idiot. But you’re my idiot. And it’s not all your fault. I shouldn’t have let Barbara snow me. There’ll be other jobs and other chances—maybe even better ones. Regardless, job or no job, no one, but no one, is going to keep me from working on Artemisia’s poems. It’s not as if they can stop me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s just like you said—I need to work so I can eat. But if I have to, I can wait tables or whatever and still write about Artemisia. Maybe I’ll start a blog. Or a Web TV show.” She gave Cam a kiss. “You can be my camera operator.”

  “That might be a bit of a lark, now you mention it.”

  “I’d reach more people that way than through some stuffy academic journal anyway. Especially if I give my lectures wearing a bikini.”

  “What?”

  “Just making sure you were paying attention.” Alex rested her head on Cam’s shoulder. “What matters is that we stay together.”

  “Too right.”

  Alex hugged Cam tighter. “Tell me something.”

  “Why I came to find you? Because I love you and I can’t live without you.”

  “That’s really sweet, but what I actually wanted to ask is why you got out of the van.” Alex raised her head. “What exactly did you have in mind before you gave that impressive demonstration of acrobatic incompetence?”

  Cam laughed and kissed her. “God”—she kissed her again—“I do love you so.”

  “So. What were you planning to do? You weren’t running away, by any chance?” She reached up and anchored her fingers in Cam’s hair, pulling her head back enough to look her dead in the eye. “Because trying to get away from me would not be a good idea.”

  Even as she said it, Alex stepped back against the side of the van, pulling Cam with her, and drew her head down for a long, hard kiss. Eyes closed, she felt Cam lean against her, hands braced against the van on either side of her shoulders. Alex loved the feel of Cam’s body, all her weight and strength pressing against Alex’s whole length, and as the kiss went on and on and the pleasure started to build in her center, she began to move her hips, needing more pressure there but getting barely any.

  Just when she thought she couldn’t stand it anymore, Cam shifted her legs, pushing one thigh in between Alex’s. For a moment it felt so good Alex thought she was going to scream, but Cam kept pushing, pressing just hard enough to keep her from moving at all.

  Confused, Alex loosened her grip on Cam’s hair and pulled back from the kiss, searching Cam’s eyes for some clue about what was happening.

  In a teasing voice, Cam said, “No.”

  I’m going to kill her. “No, what?”

  “No, I wasn’t going to run. And I wasn’t going to do this, either.”

  Cam moved her leg just a little, sending a jolt of pleasure through Alex that stole a groan from her throat.

  Then Cam stopped moving. “So, do you really want to know what I was going to do?”

  Oh, she was enjoying this, damn her. Alex managed to find her voice long enough to snarl, “Just do something, goddamn it, or I swear to God I am going to kill you.”

  “Not until I finish.” She started kissing Alex’s neck, working her way down. “Then I can die happy.”

  And just like that, Cam was on her knees, opening Alex’s jeans, pulling them down along with her underwear. She had a moment to feel cold air on her bare skin and then Cam’s mouth was on her, warm and hungry, and she was lost. Everything disappeared except the way Cam was taking her, her eager mouth seeking out all the places that made her whimper and shiver and cry out. Alex felt herself collapsing and t
hen Cam’s arm was around her, keeping her upright as she started to come, Cam’s caresses never letting up, demanding every last molecule of pleasure from her until she couldn’t take any more and she tugged at Cam’s hair, begging her to stop.

  Cam looked up at her, eyes glazed, as if she was still as lost in the pleasure as Alex had been.

  Alex drew her to her feet and hugged her tenderly, whispering in her ear. “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”

  “Oh, love, I am home.”

  *

  Eventually they made it back to Dawson House. As they climbed out of the van, Alex was surprised to see Ian walking along the path from the back of the house, his expression troubled. But then he caught sight of Alex and his face broke out in a huge smile.

  Alex rushed over and gave him a hug. As she stepped back, Cam came over and shook his hand.

  “Good to see you again, Mr. Montrose.”

  “Good to see both of you. Especially you, Alexandra. From the messages you left, I was afraid I would be too late.”

  “I’m glad to be here myself. It was a pretty close call.” She took Cam’s hand and smiled at her before turning back to Ian. “But what are you doing here? I mean, I’m glad to see you. I’m just surprised.”

  “Now, didn’t I tell you that I’d be up here to view your find the instant I had the chance? I would have been here sooner if that wretched meeting of mine hadn’t lasted longer than the Trojan War and Odysseus’s homeward journey combined. That’s the other reason I’m here. I’m afraid I’ve a bit of bad news and—”

  “If it’s bad, it’ll keep. But why aren’t you inside? Someone from Highgate Hall could have given you a key.”

  “Someone did. But it being such a lovely day, I was enjoying myself too much to go indoors. I walked about the village for a while, tut-tutting over the way things have changed in my best old-fogey fashion, and then I wandered up to Bram Tor.”

  “I’m glad you’ve been enjoying yourself, Ian, but why don’t we get you in out of the wind now.”