Countdown

by Julie Cannon

  “Is that a yes or a no?”

  “It’s kind of late for a walk.”

  “Then come with me.”

  “What?” Andrea asked, apparently surprised.

  “Come with me. There’s safety in numbers, you know,” Kenner said, toying with her. Andrea looked completely dumbfounded and was kind of cute without her serious face.

  “Are you crazy?” Andrea asked, obviously thinking she was.

  “About what? Wanting to go for a walk or asking you to come with me?”

  “Both. It’s far too late to be walking around at night, even with two of us. I have a treadmill in one of the bedrooms you can use. That’ll have to do,” she said, ending the conversation.

  *

  After showing Kenner where the treadmill was, Andrea took a shower. The evening had gotten off to a rocky start but had ended up pretty enjoyable. Not only was Kenner brilliant, she was also quick and witty and had a great sense of humor. Andrea’s stomach fluttered when she thought about Kenner’s laugh. It was full and not the slightest self-conscious, and when she laughed along with her, Andrea had felt almost free. It had been a long time since she’d laughed, and she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it.

  She’d been working nonstop for the past five months leading up to the liftoff of the Explorer. She’d lost touch with the few friends she had, her work taking up almost every minute of her life. But even before things got absolutely crazy, she hadn’t made time to go out. She couldn’t remember the last movie she’d seen or the last time she’d read anything other than a technical manual or report. She finished her shower, pulled on a pair of loose pajama bottoms, a T-shirt with MIT Alumni embroidered across the front, and her robe. She would check on Kenner before she went to bed.

  The sound of feet pounding on the treadmill told her Kenner must have decided to run instead of walk. As she strolled down the hall, Andrea wondered where Kenner found the energy. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and it was all she could do to make it down the hall to her room instead of collapse on the couch. She froze in the doorway of the room.

  Kenner was running fast, her arms and legs pumping. A pair of very, very short bright-green running shorts and a contrasting sports bra displayed her body, with almost nothing left to the imagination. And holy God, she looked good. Her chest was covered in sweat and glowed with strength and power. The muscles in her legs were well defined and her stomach perfectly flat. My God, Andrea thought, she could be in a magazine ad and I would buy whatever she was selling. Kenner was an exquisite example of a woman in action, and Andrea couldn’t do anything other than stare. She stood transfixed as Kenner increased her speed and breathed harder.

  Andrea didn’t know how long she’d been standing there, but when Kenner reduced the speed on the treadmill and reached for the towel draped over the controls, their eyes met. A bolt of something vaguely familiar shot through Andrea’s body and straight between her legs. Kenner’s chest was heaving, her breathing fast. Andrea felt hers moving in time with it. Kenner’s eyes darkened, and she pulled an earbud out of her right ear.

  Andrea knew she should say something, preferably good night, or do something like hand Kenner the water bottle on the table next to her, but she really wanted to tell Kenner just how magnificent she thought her body was, then turn, run down the hall, and lock herself in her bedroom.

  “I’m sorry,” Kenner said, hitting the stop button and stepping off the slowing belt. “Am I keeping you awake?”

  Andrea couldn’t form a coherent thought as Kenner walked toward her, toweling the sweat off her face. Words wouldn’t form in her brain, and the command to close her mouth didn’t work either.

  “Andrea?” Kenner asked. “Are you all right?”

  Kenner searched her face, and when her eyes came back to hers, the pounding between her legs intensified. Holy Mother of God, she’s beautiful, she heard a little voice in her head say. It was also telling her to take four steps forward, take Kenner in her arms, and kiss her—long, hard, and forever.

  “Andrea?” Kenner asked again, this time more forcefully.

  “Do it. Do it now,” the voice in her head said. “You won’t be sorry.” Andrea shook her head, trying to clear the voice. “Do it. Grab her, pin her to the wall, and kiss her.”

  “No,” Andrea said forcefully and took a step backward. Kenner froze mid-step and put her hands up, signaling she wasn’t a threat.

  “Andrea? What is it?” she asked, looking puzzled and obviously confused.

  Andrea realized she’d spoken out loud and suddenly wanted to crawl between the seams in the carpet and disappear forever. Actually she wanted this entire scene to have not happened. What should she do now? Why was she always trying to figure out what to do or say when she was around Kenner? God, it was like she was fifteen again.

  “It’s nothing,” she said, her voice betraying how affected she was by seeing Kenner, her half-naked body covered in sweat. “I was talking to the voice in my head.”

  Kenner looked at her for quite a few moments before finally asking, “What was it telling you?”

  Grab her, pin her to the wall, and kiss her. That’s what it was telling her. But instead she managed to say, “That I should tell you that you shouldn’t work out so late in the evening. You’ll never get to sleep.” Good God, where had that come from?

  Kenner surely knew she was full of shit, and Andrea tried to cover her inane remarks by adding, “But it’s none of my business. I was just going to ask if you needed anything before I went to bed.” Like a kiss, or for me to lick the sweat off your upper lip. Or maybe that drip disappearing between your breasts. Andrea tensed. If Kenner did one thing, made one move toward her, said one thing encouraging, she wouldn’t be able to hold herself back. As it was, she was struggling to stand still.

  Kenner studied her for more than a few seconds, and Andrea was thankful she couldn’t read her mind. “Stop being a coward. Do it,” the voice said again. “You want to and you know it, and judging by the look on her face, she wouldn’t say no.” Finally it was Kenner who stepped back.

  “No, nothing, thanks,” Kenner said, and Andrea couldn’t even remember her question.

  “I’ll just grab a quick shower and go to bed myself. Thanks for letting me use this,” Kenner continued, pointing behind her. “It was just what I needed.” Kenner’s eyes narrowed and darkened. “Oh, and I never have trouble falling asleep after a workout,” she said confidently.

  Andrea’s stomach dropped, as did her mouth. The innuendo was as plain as the accompanying expression on Kenner’s face. Before she could make any more of a fool of herself than she already had, she said good night. As much as Andrea wanted to run down the hall, she forced herself to walk. It was after she closed and locked the door that her knees gave out. She slid to the floor and dropped her face in her hands. What in the fuck had just happened, and WTF had just happened to her?

  Kenner watched Andrea walk away. She obviously couldn’t get out of here fast enough. “What was that all about?” she asked before turning the cap on her water bottle and taking a swig. Something was definitely wrong, but she wasn’t sure what. Andrea had said she could use the treadmill, and that’s all she’d been doing when she came in. Granted, she was pounding away and had just crossed the five-mile mark when she’d reduced the speed to start her cool-down.

  Kenner wiped her face with a towel and saw that her hand was shaking. It couldn’t have been from her workout. She hated running on sterile treadmills, but that had been little more than her normal warm-up before going for a much-longer run. Maybe she was just a little out of shape. Running relaxed her and cleared her head, and she tried to do it at least three or four times a week. But she’d been on vacation for a week before getting Andrea’s call. However, that was only three days ago, and she’d been relaxing and clearing her head in other, more pleasurable ways than churning out miles.

  She wiped down the treadmill, gathered up her things, and turned off the light.
She hesitated in front of Andrea’s bedroom and leaned her head toward the door. She didn’t know what she was listening for, but when she didn’t hear anything she knocked softly.

  “Andrea?” Her voice wasn’t very loud in case Andrea was sleeping, but she doubted it. As agitated as she’d been, no way could she be asleep by now.

  “Andrea?” she called again. When she didn’t answer, Kenner continued down the hall to the guest room. She showered quickly, the cool water refreshing on her heated skin. She didn’t bother to put on any clothes, but just slid naked between the sheets.

  *

  Andrea leaned against the counter and closed her eyes. The smell of fresh coffee dripping relaxed her a little, but she was still keyed up. Last night she had barely been able to pull herself together and get to her room when Kenner had knocked on her door. She’d sensed when Kenner had stopped at her door and didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed that she didn’t insist she answer the door. If she had, Andrea didn’t know if she’d have had the strength to send her away. The voice in her head certainly would have been encouraging her to invite her in.

  Jesus, what had gotten in to her last night? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen a half-naked woman before. And Kenner wasn’t even that. She was dressed like any number of the women in Andrea’s gym and was even more covered than a few. Granted, Andrea went to the gym, did her workout, and went home. She didn’t look at the other women or their bodies, and she certainly never ogled them like she had Kenner’s. Dear God, it was like she was dying of thirst and only Kenner could quench it. She’d never been as rattled by another woman as she had by the sight of Kenner’s sweaty body last night. She just had to get through today and the next few days until they fixed this problem, and then she could continue with her life. It was just that simple. She’d willed her way through tougher, more challenging situations, and this was merely one more.

  Andrea carried a mug of coffee and knocked on the guest-room door. It took only a few moments before Kenner told her to come in.

  *

  Kenner was scooting up to lean against the headboard, and when the sheet slid down, Andrea knew the day couldn’t get much worse. Oh, my God! Kenner was naked, and her breasts were more beautiful than what Andrea had imagined them to be last night. Kenner calmly pulled the sheet up and covered herself.

  “Sorry,” Kenner said, tucking the sheet more tightly around her. “I guess I wasn’t as decent as I thought I was,” she said apologetically.

  Andrea could only stare at the pristine white sheet that covered Kenner’s magnificent chest. A tattoo Andrea couldn’t quite make out peeked out just above the sheet over her right breast, and Andrea wanted to walk, not run, over and slowly tug the sheet down to reveal it in its entirety.

  “Andrea?” Kenner asked.

  “Oh, yeah, sorry,” she said, forcing her eyes up across Kenner’s naked shoulders, up her neck, past full lips, and into her eyes. Kenner’s knowing eyes. Andrea felt a blush creep up her neck and chose to ignore it. There was nothing she could do about it anyway. “No problem,” she said, somehow crossing the room and intending to set the cup on the nightstand. She was afraid if she handed it to Kenner, she would be dangerously close to the body that had danced in her dreams. What she didn’t count on was how the sheet shifted when Kenner reached for the cup instead.

  Andrea had two choices. Move closer so Kenner didn’t need to lean forward any more or stay where she was and let the chips fall where they may, as the saying went. But it wasn’t chips that would fall. It would be the sheet, followed by her resolve to get through this morning and every morning until Kenner left her house.

  “Is that for me?” Kenner asked, pointing to the cup in her hand.

  Andrea’s melting brain caught the lifeline, and she stepped closer and handed Kenner the cup. Their fingers touched, and a shaft of heat traveled up her arm, crisscrossing inside her chest, and settled firmly between her legs. Oh, God, she didn’t need this.

  Her eyes dropped to Kenner’s chest, and the pulsing in her clit demanded attention. She released the cup and forced her eyes back to Kenner’s, and what she saw took her breath away. Her eyes were a darker shade of green, the flame of desire unmistakable. Oh God, I can’t do this. Please, I can’t do this.

  “Thank you,” Kenner said, and Andrea jumped at the opportunity to move back a few steps. It gave her some breathing room, but that went out the window when she saw Kenner’s confident, knowing smile. The blush she felt now was one of anger, not embarrassment.

  “We need to leave in thirty minutes,” she said, hurriedly trying to gather herself. One minute she was almost overcome with desire, and the next instant she was furious. She couldn’t deal with much more of this emotional flip-flop.

  “I said thank you,” Kenner said.

  “I just brought you coffee. No big deal,” she said defensively and turned to leave.

  “I meant thank you for looking at me the way you did.”

  Andrea pivoted and glared at Kenner. “For looking at you the way I did?”

  “Yes, I liked it, and obviously you did too.”

  Now Andrea was really angry. Her response was not meant to be a question, and she said so through clenched teeth.

  “Sounded like one to me. Like you didn’t understand my meaning,” Kenner added and didn’t move to raise the sheet that had dropped again.

  “I know exactly what your meaning was, and I’m not interested.”

  “That’s not what your body said and not what I saw,” Kenner said.

  “Then you need to have your eyes checked. Susie’s the one who’s interested in a quick, no-strings-attached roll in the sheets. I’m not.” God, she sounded pathetic.

  “I never said it would be quick.”

  Kenner’s voice was husky with morning wake-up and desire, and Andrea’s pulse raced even faster. It was suddenly hard to take a breath. No, she thought, it would definitely not be quick with Kenner.

  “Thirty minutes. Get dressed.” For the second time in a few hours she forced her legs to take her out the door.

  Andrea looked at her watch for the third time in as many minutes when Kenner emerged from the guest room. Today she wore a pair of khakis and a long-sleeved navy T-shirt with a logo of a turtle on the front. Andrea picked up her keys and briefcase and headed toward the garage, still fuming.

  “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you,” Kenner said, surprising her.

  “You didn’t. I’m just not interested.” She pushed the button to open the garage door much harder than necessary.

  “Andrea…” Kenner started to say more.

  Andrea didn’t want to hear it. As a matter of fact she didn’t want to even acknowledge there was something there. Kenner had seen it. Anybody who wasn’t blind could have seen it, and she was embarrassed that she hadn’t been able to keep her emotions under wraps. She hadn’t slept much last night because she was thinking about her reaction to seeing Kenner all sweaty and magnificent. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t deny that she was attracted to her. Actually, she would describe her urge as much more than attraction. She’d use words like lust, desire, and passion. But she was stronger than her desires. She always had been, and that wasn’t going to change now. Too much was at stake.

  “I mean it, Kenner. I’m not interested. Do I need to make it any clearer?” she asked in her no-bullshit, mission-director voice.

  Chapter Fifteen

  T-minus 07:07:18:49

  Barry was waiting for Andrea inside her office. Great, just what she needed, she thought, plastering a welcoming smile on her face. “Good morning, Barry. Do we have a meeting?” she asked, knowing they didn’t.

  “What’s the status?” he asked, not even bothering to return her greeting. When had he become such a dick?

  What a stupid-ass question. It was obvious she’d just arrived. She told him as much. “I haven’t had a chance to read the logs from last night, but since my phone didn’t ring telling me otherwise, I would surmise tha
t things are status quo.” Judging by the look on Barry’s face, that wasn’t the answer he was looking for. “But give me ten minutes and I can give you a complete update,” she added quickly.

  What had gotten into her? She respected Barry and his authority over this mission and never would have answered him like she just had. Actually she never would have had to because she was always in before Barry and was able to brief him or anyone else on any aspect of the mission at any time.

  Her lack of sleep and the constant aggravation of dealing with Kenner had her on edge. She wasn’t herself, and as much as she told herself to get it together, she was still repeating that mantra. Never had she been so distracted that it took any more than telling herself to get her head back in the game. Her mind seemed to have a mind of its own. At least the voice in her head had quieted. God, she needed all this to be over, now.

  Barry asked her a few more questions, and as soon as he left her office Andrea hurried to the conference room. She was never late to the morning briefing and didn’t want to start now.

  She wasn’t even ten minutes into the meeting, and no matter how hard she tried to stop them, Andrea’s eyes kept returning to Kenner. This was the third morning briefing with Kenner in attendance, and she sat in a different chair each day. The other members of her team always sat in the same places, and it was interesting to watch them when their usual seat was occupied. This morning Kenner was lounging at the other end of the table directly across from her.

  Given the way Kenner was looking at her, Andrea was afraid she could read her mind. She was probably laughing at her embarrassment and overreaction of this morning. Just thinking about Kenner’s breasts and how good she looked lying naked in her guest bed made her stomach begin to tingle. No, Andrea thought, she was probably trying to figure out how to slip away and get Susie in bed. From what she’d seen yesterday and knowing Susie’s reputation, she was certain Kenner would have absolutely no trouble. But what did she care? And why did she keep asking herself that question?