by Melissa Good
“Sure you want to do that?” Mark queried.
“Yes.”
“Okay.” Mark stood up. “Did you hear from the boss? Her data dump finally finished. The processors are chewing on it.”
Kerry leaned back. “Yep. She’s home, actually.” She propped a knee up against the desk and folded her hands around it. Hearing from Dar had been a surprise, especially when her lover had told her she was comfortably seated on their leather couch watching a special on China.
“She’s...um...cooking dinner.”
Mark stopped in mid-motion and stared at her, his jaw dropping in mild shock. “Uh?”
“Yeah.” Kerry scratched her nose. “My curiosity is starting to give me wedgies,” she admitted with a grin. “I mean, it could be that we’ll end up eating ice cream sundaes for dinner—those are well inside Dar’s ability; or maybe she’ll do eggs, which I know are safe.”
“Now you’ve got me curious.” Mark chuckled. “She once told me flipping the power switch on the coffee machine was the limit of her cooking skills.” He folded his arms. “You gotta let me know what happens.”
Kerry stood up and stretched, wincing as her back popped from the long hours she’d been seated at her desk trying to clear her inbox. She’d even had Mayte bring her up lunch so she could spend the extra time catching up. “Okay.” She viewed the outbox with a sense of satisfaction.
“I think I’m going to pack it in.”
“Walk you downstairs?” Mark offered. “I was just on my way out myself.”
They joined a group of fellow employees who were also leaving, including Jose and Eleanor, and the elevator was fairly crowded. Kerry pressed back against the mirrored wall, not really uncomfortable, but conscious of the air’s stuffiness and the clashing scents of Eleanor’s aggressive rose perfume and Jose’s vaguely coconutty-smelling after-shave.
Ick. Kerry eyed the ceiling; it was also unfortunate that some people seemed to have a curious absentmindedness when it came to things like deodorant and reasonably frequent showering. She considered holding her breath, wondering if the elevator was being perversely slow just to piss her off.
Oh. Kerry almost hopped up and down to force the car to move faster. What if it gets stuck? Her eyes widened a little. How would it look for the VP Ops to upchuck all over half the executive staff in an elevator?
“Kerry!”
She jerked and sucked in a breath, then glanced at Mark. “What?”
Mark leaned closer. “You looked like you were freaking out.”
She sighed and leaned back. “Overactive imagination.” The car 154 Melissa Good reached the bottom and bounced a little, then, finally, blissfully, the doors slid open and allowed the people to exit and the cold air to enter.
“Jesus.” She pushed off from the mirrored wall and left the elevator, glancing up into the vast vault of the atrium lobby.
A faint smile crossed her face as she remembered the first time she’d seen this place—a very late, rainy night that had started in despair and ended up being a crossroads in her life she wasn’t even aware of until long after she’d passed through it.
She followed Mark out the front doors into the daylight and headed for her car, her mind making the mental jog when it first tried to find her Mustang, then shifted and searched for the new profile.
“Hey, did you get a new set of wheels?” Mark asked as he ambled alongside her. “Ain’t that cute...a baby Darcar.”
“A wh? Oh,” Kerry laughed. “Yeah, I guess you could call it that.”
She patted her new blue Lexus on the side. “I like it. I can actually see things now. See you tomorrow, Mark.”
“Yeah.” Mark put his briefcase in the saddlebag of the big Harley and unstrapped his motorcycle helmet. “Drop me a mail when you figure out what Big D is feeding you, huh? I’m dying to know.”
“Hmm.” Kerry got into the SUV and rolled the window down.
“Dying...not a good word there, Mark.” She gave him a wave and started the car, then pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.
IT WAS RELATIVELY quiet outside the condo when she pulled into her spot and got out, cautiously examining the front door before she approached it. “Well.” She leaned back against the car and crossed her arms. “No smoke, no fire engines outside the place, and it looks like the electricity is still on, so she didn’t blow a circuit.”
She nodded. “Looking good so far. Now, Kerrison,” she addressed herself seriously, “whatever this turns out to be, Dar will have spent a lot of time and a lot of effort on it, so no matter what, you’re going to like it. Got me?” She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.
“Besides, you’ve eaten at the Republican National Convention. Nothing should scare you after that.”
She trotted up the stairs and paused, cocking her head and listening before she keyed in her lock code. Nothing but soft music came faintly to her ears, certainly not the strident cursing she’d have expected from Dar if things weren’t going well. Another good sign. Kerry unlocked the door and opened it, slipping inside and closing it behind her.
And then she just stood there, only her eyes moving as she absorbed the scene in front of her. The lights were dimmed in both the living room and dining room, and there were candles on the table.
Really tall, pretty candles, set in holders that complemented the china and crystal place settings patiently awaiting use.
She also realized two other things: there was no sign of Dar, and Red Sky At Morning 155
something smelled great. “Heh,” Kerry chortled softly to herself. “I’m liking this already.”
“Good,” Dar’s voice purred from nearby.
Kerry almost jumped, and then she turned to see Dar leaning against the doorjamb of her bedroom, her hair pulled loosely back and her body covered in something very silky and brief. The pale blue eyes held a lazily sensual note as they traveled over Kerry’s form, eliciting a small, almost subvocal noise from Kerry’s throat. “Hi there,” she managed to get out.
“Hi there,” Dar replied. “Wanna come in and make yourself comfortable?” She eased away from the door and moved toward Kerry, bare feet soundless against the tile. “Hello? Earth to Kerry.” Dar waved a hand in front of her lover’s eyes, which seemed to be firmly focused on her.
Kerry let her laptop case slide to the floor and found better uses for her hands, letting them slide over the soft, cool fabric covering Dar’s body to feel the warm flesh beneath. She stepped closer and took a deep breath, then tilted her head back to look up at her lover. “So, what did I do to rate this?”
Dar smiled. “Nothing.” She brushed a wisp of pale hair out of Kerry’s eyes. “I just felt like trying out this romantic thing.
Complaining?”
“Nuh-uh.” Kerry shook her head firmly. “Where’d you get this? It’s gorgeous.” She fingered the crimson silk. It barely covered Dar’s body, and Kerry found herself losing interest in dinner, or asking questions, or... “Damn, you smell good.”
“Glad you think so.” Dar nuzzled her hair, then slipped her arms around Kerry and gave her a big hug. “Mom and Dad took Chino for a while.”
Kerry gave her a weird look. “Why? She never bothers us.”
“No, but she kept jumping up and stealing my mixing thing, and it was driving me nuts,” Dar admitted with a faint chuckle. “They’ll bring her back and drop her off later in the evening. C’mon, let’s get you undressed so you can properly appreciate my creation.”
Kerry stepped back and grinned frankly at her. “Sweetie, I don’t need to be undressed to appreciate that. I think your creation is spectacular.”
Dar put her hands on her hips, hiking up the fabric and only enhancing Kerry’s visceral experience. “I meant dinner.”
“That too.” Kerry’s smile grew wider. “Oh.” The words finally penetrated, and she laughed helplessly. “Sorry...sorry...you mean the food.”
Dar snorted softly, but looked pleased with the appraisal nonetheless. “G’
wan.” She nudged Kerry toward the stairs. “I’ll put the salad on the table.”
Kerry had turned and had one foot on the steps. Now she stopped 156 Melissa Good dead and swiveled her head to face Dar. “You,” she pointed, “made salad?”
Dar nodded.
“Ah...hah.” Kerry slowly turned back around and started up the steps, sneaking disbelieving peeks at Dar as she did, until she disappeared onto the second floor. “Salad.” She shook her head as she entered her bedroom and kicked her shoes off. “I feel like I’m in a dream world.”
Her closet beckoned and she went inside, shucking out of her jacket and hanging it neatly on a hanger. She unbuttoned and slid out of her skirt and hung that up as well. Then she stopped and considered as she removed her shirt. Normally, she’d just slip into an old T-shirt, but since Dar had made an effort... Her eyes roved speculatively over her wardrobe. “Hmm. It’s all business or dressy. I don’t have any causally sexy numbers, Dar.”
She flipped through the hangers until she finally stopped at one, removing it. “Hmm.” It was a sleeveless satin sheath, designed to go under a lacy dress she had. “That’ll work.” She slipped it over her head and settled the edges, which just barely came to her upper thighs.
“Yeah...” She consulted the mirror, which reflected back to her a surprisingly racy-looking image. Thoughts of Dar in her silk strapless number came to mind, and Kerry found herself wondering just how relevant dinner was going to be.
A shiver of anticipation made her grin.
DAR STUDIED THE plate, then nodded in satisfaction, cocking her head as she heard Kerry’s footsteps coming down the stairs. She put both hands on the back of the dining room chair and smiled in welcome as Kerry appeared, the smile broadening as the warm candlelight exposed the brief clothing and knowing look. “Nice.” Dar drew the chair back, and Kerry seated herself with a faint chuckle.
“Thank you.” Kerry waited for Dar to take the seat right next to her and moved the chair slightly so their bare legs touched. “Are you actually going to eat some of this here salad, Dardar?”
White teeth reflected the candlelight as Dar smiled. “Only if you feed it to me.”
So she did. They exchanged forkfuls, and Kerry found herself enjoying the freshly cut greens very much. Of course, there was enough dressing on them that Dar probably couldn’t tell a lettuce leaf from a carrot, but that was okay. That’s how Kerry liked her salad. They finished, and she carefully removed some extra dressing off Dar’s lips before she let her lover stand and remove the plates. “That was great.”
Dar paused at the entrance to the kitchen. “Just you wait.”
“Mm.” Kerry sat back and folded her hands over her stomach, craning her neck to watch Dar busy at work by the stove. With serious Red Sky At Morning 157
precision, her lover was arranging something on plates and adding scoops of something else from a dish on the warmer. When she was satisfied that both plates had equal amounts and were symmetrical, Dar picked them up and walked back into the dining room.
“Here you go.” Dar set the plates down and seated herself, then eyed Kerry for a reaction.
Kerry’s eyebrows lifted. “That’s a lobster tail,” she commented.
“Yep.”
Kerry poked the top. “It’s stuffed.”
“Sure is.”
“Those are au gratin potatoes.”
“With cheese,” Dar agreed.
“And peas.”
“LeSeur Very Early Baby Peas.”
Kerry nibbled a bit of stuffing. “Dar, this is fantastic.”
A very satisfied Dar settled back in her chair. “Thanks.”
They ate in silence for a moment. Unable to keep her curiosity under wraps, Kerry finally asked, “When did you learn to cook?”
Dar looked up, and bit the end of her fork in thought. “Four—no, four-thirty today.” She reached over and poured chilled white wine into their glasses, then lifted one and toasted her lover. “Incredible what you can find out on the Internet, isn’t it?”
With a helpless laugh, Kerry lifted her glass and clinked it, then took a sip of the sweet wine. “So, what’s for dessert?”
For an answer, Dar looked her up and down and raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching into a rakish grin.
“Ah.” Kerry wrinkled her nose into an appreciative grin. “Got any fudge with that?”
Dar merely chuckled.
“MM.” KERRY STRETCHED her legs out in the Jacuzzi and leaned her head back, regarding the stars happily. “What a great night.”
Dar stepped into the tub and sat down, setting two glasses down on the rim and stretching an arm out to encircle Kerry’s shoulders. “Glad you liked it.” She wiggled her toes in contentment. “I sure did, except that fudge got damn messy.”
One green eye rotated in her direction. “Which is why we’re here in the hot tub,” Kerry reminded her wryly. “Or we would have ended up stuck together, which could have made work a little interesting tomorrow.” She reached over and scratched the back of Dar’s neck.
“How’d it go down by the base today?”
Dar handed her a glass of cold sweet peach tea. “Relatively pointless. I got the circuit hooked up and got the download started, then...” Dar paused. “There was one weird thing. They’ve got a private T3 dropped in there that’s on an isolated segment.”
158 Melissa Good Kerry tipped her head to one side. “Really?” she mused. “That is weird.”
“Yeah.” Dar nibbled her inner lip. “I’ve got Mark tracking down the private line, but...I don’t know, Ker. It’s really odd.” She leaned back and sighed. “I wish I knew what was going on.”
Kerry caught the mood change, and she slid closer. “Maybe it’s nothing.”
Dar regarded the stars. “Maybe.” She set her glass down and slid her arms around Kerry instead, kissing her lips and removing a trace of fudge from them. “But right now, I don’t think I want to care one way or the other.”
“Mm.” Kerry slid around to face her, going belly to belly with Dar as she leaned forward.
Dar pulled her closer, circling her arms around the small of Kerry’s back. As she looked up, the stars overhead formed an almost halo around her partner’s form, and their twinkle was echoed in the mist-green eyes gazing back at her. “Know what I think?”
“No, what?” Kerry murmured, gently exploring the curve of Dar’s neck with her lips.
“I think I like cooking.”
Kerry stopped and went nose to nose with her, her eyes almost crossing as she tried to keep Dar’s face in focus. “I think you got into some bad MREs down on that base, Ms. Paladar.”
Dar chuckled. “Well, okay. I don’t like cooking, but I like surprising you.” She tilted Kerry’s chin upward and kissed her on the lips. “I thought about what I was going to do all the way home on that damn boring road.”
Kerry responded, letting her hand submerge to stroke Dar’s side, rubbing her thumb along the curve of her breast. “Well, it was a trip to come home to, that’s for sure. I don’t think I ever had anyone do that for me before,” she admitted. “And boy, was it nice after being at work all day. I think I get a clue as to why guys wanted to keep their wives home in the kitchen all those years.”
Dar snickered, nuzzling her neck and giving her a nip.
“Antifeminism explained. There’s a master’s thesis in there if you want it, Ker.”
“No thanks.” Kerry rubbed her body against Dar’s, reveling in the feel of their skin-on-skin contact. “Four years was more than enough for me. I’m no scholar.”
“Me either.” Dar ran her hands up Kerry’s thighs, leaning back a little as her partner pressed against her. The frothy water tickled her now sensitized skin, and they spent a leisurely few minutes exchanging kisses.
Kerry unexpectedly giggled. “Um...Dar?”
“Yeees?”
“Look over your right shoulder.”
Red Sky At Morning 159
Dar reluctantly left off fro
m a very interesting exploration of Kerry’s chest and turned her head, coming face to face, or rather nose to nose, with a curious Labrador Retriever. “Yah!”
“Gruff!” Chino gave her a lick.
Kerry burst into laughter, collapsing against Dar in a delightful swirl of bubbles and warm skin. “We forgot to close the sliding door all the way.”
“So I see.” Dar splashed the dog with a handful of water. “Least it’s her, and not my folks.” She caught her breath, her temporarily thwarted libido kicking her in the butt but not having anywhere to go past those cute Labrador ears now cocking her way. “C’mon. It’s getting a little chilly out here anyway.”
Kerry flexed her shoulders, which had been fully exposed to the wind. “Mm.” She got out and wrapped one of their fluffy blue towels around her, reaching over and handing Dar the other as her partner climbed out of the tub. Even after all this time, Kerry glanced around as the moonlight outlined Dar’s muscular body, half expecting to see interested spectators on decks nearby.
There weren’t. At least none that she saw. She chuckled at herself and followed Dar inside, finding her hand taken and clasped as they closed the sliding door and traded the balmy air for the crisp chill of the condo. They walked together in silence across the living room, jostling each other as they entered the large blue-tinted bedroom.
“Now,” Dar turned and faced her, removing her towel and tossing it into the corner. “Where were we?”
Kerry stepped forward into her embrace, ducking her head slightly to give Dar’s nipple a playful lick. “Here?”
“Hmm...” Dar half chuckled deep in her throat. She wrapped her arms around Kerry and picked her up, turning and taking both of them to the waterbed. She rolled over onto her back as Kerry stretched and spread her body out. The heat of their combined skin was shiver inducing, an exquisite counterpoint to the conditioned air.
Kerry slid her thigh between Dar’s and traced a teasing path from her groin to her breasts, leaning forward to coax a soft groan from her partner with a pair of skillful lips. Learning what worked with Dar was a never-ending fascination of hers, and she took an unsteady breath as she felt Dar’s touch high up on the inside of her leg.