On Dangerous Ground
Page 11
“I’m sorry, Terri. I’m not a lush or anything, really. It’s just that—”
Terri stopped her with a finger to Jen’s lips and smiled.
“It’s okay, Jen. I’ve seen plenty of people in tense situations, and watched them react in all kinds of ways. A shot of liquid courage is hardly uncommon.” Terri took Jen’s hands in hers.
“The important thing here is, are you okay?”
“Actually, I’m not sure. Do you have any idea what this whole thing is about? Do you know who it might be? I mean, maybe it’s a disgruntled employee or something like that.”
Jen held tight to Terri’s hands as she processed the rest of the thought. “Or do you think I’m in some kind of danger?”
“That’s the problem. We don’t have a clue. I have to be
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honest with you, because you deserve that, but there’s nothing. No motive, no suspects, no evidence. Nothing. So I can’t answer your question.” Terri looked away, appearing to be slightly ashamed, as a light dawned on Jen.
“Ah, that’s what this is about. The avoidance, that is. Not that you didn’t want to tell me, but that you don’t know if you can help. Terri, I’m glad you told me, but I have to figure part of this out by myself. I know I kid around a lot and tease you about being all big and bad, and how you’re going to keep me safe, but I can take care of myself. You don’t have to be responsible for me.” She reached for Terri’s chin, tilting her face up to meet her gaze. “You know this doesn’t change anything, right? I mean, I care a lot about you too, and I don’t want you to worry about me.” Terri nodded gently as Jen continued, “Besides, you could let me take care of you a little too, you know.” She blinked hard to keep the tears she felt coming on at bay. “I may not have all the fancy handguns and stuff, but I’m smart and I have cunning and false bravado enough for both of us. Okay?”
Jen finally relaxed a little when Terri laughed and nodded,
“I know you do. I just don’t want to let you down.”
“Terri, the only way you could let me down would be to tell me to leave, you know, walk out of here under some pretense of maintaining professional distance.” She pointed toward the front of the house for emphasis. “I’m not sure how you feel about this, but I’m pretty sure that we can take on anything or anybody as long as we do it together. Right?” Jen watched a couple of tears slip down Terri’s cheeks.
“Yes, Jen, absolutely yes.” Terri lightly caressed her cheek with her thumb. “Together. Good.”
Jen was back, fully in resolve mode. “Now, Ms. Big Bad Agent, how about if we eat this wonderful dinner that you
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worked so hard to make for me, and talk about something else.”Terri’s expression softened. “Did you bring any movies?”
Happy to be back in her comfort zone, Jen smiled brightly and answered. “Yep, I brought both Tomb Raider films, Aliens, Terminator 2, The Matrix, Underworld, and Resident Evil.”
Grinning expectantly, she waited for a response. Terri was finally laughing. “Jen, I’m sensing a theme here. Are you sure you didn’t bring the last four seasons of Voyager with you too?”
Jen blushed. She was busted again. “Nope, I left those at home. Maybe next time.”
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Chapter seventeen
Saturday morning dawned clear and the day promised to be unseasonably warm. The local weatherman had forecast highs in the low seventies and abundant sunshine for the whole day. Terri could already see the strong sunlight filtering through the curtains of the bedroom. The air even smelled warm, but maybe that was because of last night. She smiled and stretched, shaking the cobwebs loose. Despite the late-night antics and subsequent pillow talk, she was up early. Her mind raced, as it frequently did, full of a mix of criminal facts and personal feelings that was responsible for waking her up. Despite the strong temptation, Terri hadn’t brought up the case again after their initial dinner conversation. She opted instead to leave the heavy thinking to Jen, allowing her to voice her own fears and concerns when the time was right. And the time was definitely not right, not now.
Terri took a moment to study Jen’s features as she slept in the bed next to her. Wild hair, peaceful expression, freckles across her nose, a little bit of a snore. Completely adorable. Despite the protestations of the night before, Terri wondered if either of them was prepared for the possibility of danger intruding on this perfect little space that was just the two of them. She also knew that if she spent too much time dwelling
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on the negative feelings that these thoughts were creating, she’d ruin the whole weekend, and their time together was short enough already.
Instead, she chose to let her thoughts trail back to the good stuff from the night before. Under the freckled nose and gee-whiz expression lurked the soul of a good old-fashioned horndog. Terri blushed as she remembered what had happened on the sofa in the media room as they attempted to watch a movie featuring yet another tank top–clad heroine, and then the attempted stargazing on the second-floor patio that left her with the belief that the neighbors would never be able to look her in the eye again. She continued to smile as she quietly rolled out of bed to use the bathroom.
Jen was stirring as Terri climbed back into bed. A sleepy voice asked, “What time is it?”
Terri leaned over to kiss the auburn hair, snuggling in at the same time. “It’s early. Seven fifteen-ish. Go back to sleep.”
Jen pulled her in closer, throwing an arm and a leg over her body. “I don’t want to miss this time with you. Mmm, you’re too soft and yummy.”
Terri returned the snuggle, lightly stroking the bare leg and hip now firmly planted across her lower half. “So what did you have in mind for today?”
“Well, staying in bed all day would be my first plan, but I also have a Plan B that might interest you,” Jen teased.
“Which is?”
“Which is this. You said last night that you missed the stars. Remember, on the patio?” Terri blushed again, recalling the events on the patio involving one chaise lounge and one college professor with an incredibly vivid imagination. Jen grinned smugly. “From the color on your face, I see that you do remember. But the part I’m talking about is when you told me how much you miss seeing the stars in the city.”
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Terri thought for a second. “Go on.”
“I know a place that’s only a couple of hours from here where it’s pitch black at night and you can see every star in the sky. And the hostess is incredibly accommodating to government agents. Especially gorgeous ones like you.”
Terri thought a little more before adding, “And it is a long weekend…”
“Right, so I don’t have to drive you back up here until Monday. Oh, there’s also this nifty enchanted pond and a really cool little dog.”
Terri had to laugh at these last two points. A spontaneous weekend in the country sounded great. It would also provide a great opportunity to see Jen in her own environment, which could go a long way toward easing the anxiety that seemed to color Terri’s every thought. She finally answered, “Okay, I’m in. You want to leave soon?”
“How about showers and you load Jojo up with extra food, then we head out? We can get breakfast along the way.”
“All right. But how about shower, singular?” She waggled her eyebrows and sat up to get out of bed, pulling Jen along behind her.
“Ooh, good plan, Agent McKinnon.”
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Chapter eighteen
Almost three hours later, after a stop for pancakes and to pick up Snickers, Jen pulled the 4Runner into the gravel drive of her farmhouse. She parked the car and released the little mutt with a command to “go d
o dog things.” Snickers was off like a shot, flushing a rabbit out of the hedge that separated the front yard from the dirt road. Terri was tickled by the little beast’s behavior. She was used to the reticence that cats possessed, but this dog was so much like its owner, and the word to describe Jen was anything but reticent. Tenacious, always moving, thinking, throwing herself into things with abandon, and always happy to be close to someone that she cared about, that was Jen. And Terri felt lucky to have found her. Jen spoke, breaking the reverie. “C’mon inside. We’ll put your stuff up and then maybe I can show you my enchanted pond.”
Terri grabbed her bags from the car and followed through the side door, the mudroom, and into the kitchen, the room she recognized from her first official trip. She’d been so focused on her previous visit that she had failed to notice the view of the Blue Ridge out the large bay window. They went through the living room to the small foyer and up the stairs. Jen was animated through the entire trip, pointing things out like
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the fireplace, the coat closet, the office, and the downstairs bathroom. Terri was looking at everything too, points of ingress and egress, traffic flow. At the top of the steps were the master bedroom and bathroom with adjoining dressing area and long walk-in closet. The guest room was across the hall. Terri was still counting windows and visually checking the type of locks on the doors. She was so lost in her own thoughts she didn’t realize that Jen was speaking.
“Terri, did you hear me? Are you in there?” Jen waved a hand to call attention to herself standing next to the bed, in a kind of “hey, I’m over here” fashion.
Terri shook her head, lost in the acclimation process. She pushed the feeling aside and answered, “I’m sorry, I get this way. You know, new house, have to check it all out.”
“I get it.” Jen took her hands. “Sometimes you have to be Agent McKinnon first, right? I mean, that’s okay. That’s good.” Terri smiled at the funny way that Jen put it, but noted that she was absolutely correct. “Besides, you know how I feel about Agent McKinnon.” Jen was moving, closing the gap between them. “How she gets me all hot and bothered,”
pulling hands, moving closer, words breathed into an ear,
“makes me want—”
Before she could finish the thought, Terri spun her around and backed her up against the wall. She hit with a dull thud, the impact forcing out a small grunt. Terri pinned Jen’s hands to the wall and held her against the vertical surface, pressing forward with her entire body. Terri knew exactly what Jen wanted, knew that she wanted the same thing herself. To feel safe, to give her trust to someone, no matter what outrageous form that trust chose to embody.
Terri growled into Jen’s ear, teasing out a whimper. “Is this what you want?” Jen nodded quickly in affirmation. Terri slid their hands up the wall, maintaining the contact until Jen’s
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hands were over her head. She shifted to hold both hands using only one of hers, and now had a free hand available to check for concealed weapons. Running her fingers over Jen’s cheek, Terri reached around to the back of her head and pulled their mouths together for a long, slightly rough kiss. Jen shook her head free to breathe as Terri fought to control the spinning in her own head. The intensity of the moment was threatening to overwhelm her, but the basic need to give everything she knew they both wanted drove her forward.
She slid her free hand down Jen’s body, never losing contact, teasing around the small breasts through Jen’s sweatshirt. Needing to be closer yet, Terri pulled up on the edge of the shirt, snaking her hand underneath. She pulled the tank top out of Jen’s track pants with a quick yank to touch bare skin, her effort rewarded with a small moan as Jen mockstruggled, still pinned to the wall. Terri pressed forward with her body, using her hand to seek out and finally touch Jen’s incredibly sensitive nipples, pinching first one then the other and back again, over and over, watching as Jen rolled her head against the wall, mouth open, eyes closed, breathing hard and fast.
Terri instinctively knew the situation called for immediate action, and eagerly complied. Sliding her hand down Jen’s belly, she arrived at the top of the track pants and boxer shorts, and continued to push past the elastic waistbands of both articles, never breaking contact with skin or with the hands overhead still pinned to the wall. She felt soft curls and continued downward, seeking her goal as Jen continued to struggle, opening her legs a little wider and thrusting her hips toward the fingers that were now so close. Terri pushed her hand just a little farther, made contact with the copious wetness, and moaned “oh my God” as her own knees got slightly rubbery. Clothes were decidedly in the way. Terri backed her hand
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out enough to grab both waistbands and pulled them down, wrestling the garments off as Jen struggled to step out of them, still managing to maintain contact with her other hand overhead. Their combined actions managed to liberate one leg from the offending material, but that was enough for Terri to get her free hand quickly back to the earlier point of great interest. Stroking with her fingers just enough to get them lubricated, she pushed up and into Jen with two fingers, pulled out, added another, and thrust up again, harder and faster than the first time. Jen’s response was more of a grunt than a moan, but it brought the weakness back to Terri’s knees. Finally releasing her grip overhead, Terri used her newly freed hand to grab Jen’s ass, pulling her hips forward, supporting her weight as she continued the hard, deep thrusts. Since remaining upright was getting more and more difficult, Terri pulled Jen away from the wall, picking her up in the process, and dumped her rather unceremoniously on the bed. She held Jen to the mattress with her own body weight, straddling one leg, never once hesitating or slowing as Jen cried out and thrashed beneath her. Terri could feel Jen’s leg grinding into her denim-clad crotch as Jen tensed. Since Jen’s hands were over her head, much like they had been against the wall, Terri raised up enough to get on her knees and pin the hands back to the bed. That little reassertion of control was enough to send Jen over the edge, tensing and finally coming with a low, throaty growl of release. Terri still didn’t stop, even as she felt the muscles contracting around her fingers. She kept right on thrusting, pushing Jen up and over a second time, and was soon rewarded with a second satisfied growl. This time, she did slow as Jen squeezed her thighs together, signaling that she could take no more.
“Terri, you have to stop.” Jen panted out the words.
“You’re going to kill me here.”
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Terri released the hands that she still held firmly against the covers, and immediately arms wrapped around her back, pulling her into a needy, fierce hug. She gently pulled her fingers out, feeling the slender body that was holding her from below tense momentarily and then relax. Terri placed a series of little kisses along Jen’s neck, noting the pulse beneath as it slowed to a more normal rhythm. The arms around her back finally loosened enough for her to sit up. She looked deeply into the eyes below her and watched with amazement and concern as a tear slipped out and rolled free.
“Jen, are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Terri was worried, but quickly relaxed once Jen reached up and squeezed her tightly again, letting her know that everything was indeed okay.
“No, no…I’m good.” Jen let go of the hug to look back into Terri’s eyes. “Perfect, even.” Jen traced small lines with her fingers across Terri’s forehead, down her temple, across her cheek. “I’m just a little overwhelmed by the way you make me feel. New stuff here, you know.”
Terri sat back a little more. “New stuff?” She was surprised by the admission, not really knowing what Jen was trying to process, wondering if her actions had been too rough or demanding. “What kind of new stuff?”
Jen sat up, taking Terri’s face in her hands. “I don’t know if…I mean, I don’t think I…you know, have the words.”
“Take a breath, Jen. It’ll come to you.” She reached up to hold the hands that were still on her face, pulling them down but never releasing them. “You can tell me anything, you know?”
A smile started at the corners of Jen’s mouth while she took one more calming breath and finally relaxed enough
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to talk again. “Okay, here goes…Terri McKinnon, you are, without doubt, the most amazing and wonderful person that I have ever met.” Another deep breath. “And I feel like I want to spend forever showing you how amazing and wonderful you are. Do you get it?”
“Yeah, I do get it.” Terri released the hands that she was still holding, touching the freckled face, pulling Jen in for a soft, gentle kiss. “I really do get it.”
“So, what do you think?”
The wide-eyed innocence was back, stealing Terri’s breath away as she tried to speak, knowing that there was only one answer to that question. “I think I love you too.”
Terri watched, fascinated, as Jen’s eyes, wet with unshed tears, bored into her own. Nothing else mattered. The distance between them diminished until lips touched softly, granting the contact they both desperately wanted. Jen’s lips parted, moving slowly, and a tentative tongue slipped past to touch her own. They both shuddered at the intimacy.
Time slowed to a crawl as Terri leaned back against the comforter, barely aware of the hands on her shoulders lightly pushing her down. The kiss never slowed, even as she felt her motion halted by the mattress beneath her, the warm weight of Jen’s body holding her in place. Terri allowed her hands to wander up and under the ribbed fabric of a tank top, back down to the small of Jen’s back, and up again, pulling both undershirt and sweatshirt off on the way up.
Jen backed out of the kiss long enough to get the clothing over her head, and finally broke the silence. “You have way too many clothes on.” Terri watched again as Jen’s small hands disappeared under the navy blue of her FBI sweatshirt, pushing toward her breasts, stopping as the hands found what they were looking for. It was difficult to tell who moaned louder as Terri felt her breasts being massaged through the