Next of Kin
Page 58
She kissed Kade again, and this time, Kade kissed her back with more animation. "Say something," Del pleaded when the kiss ended. She felt the urgent need to establish some kind of connection with Kade and learn what was going through her busy mind.
"Wow," Kade said.
Del couldn't help her smile. "Wow? Here I am with the DA's office's most eloquent, articulate DDA, and all she can say is 'wow'?"
Kade turned on her side until she was fully facing Del. She reached out a hand and, with a very thoughtful expression, traced Del's eyebrows, then the rim of one ear with her fingertips. "You're not here with the DDA," she answered quietly.
Del's eyes, which had closed in pleasure at the gentle touches, shot open again. She stared into Kade's blue eyes in wonderment. Kade had said exactly what she had tried to get her to see since she had first expressed an interest in Kade – that Kade could be more, was more than just a talented lawyer, confident DDA, and future politician. She was more than her cool, calm, and collected façade. She was a woman with feelings, passion, insecurities, and vulnerabilities, and Del loved her even more for it.
Love, Del repeated, raising a brow at herself. Careful there. It's a little soon for that. "I'm glad about that," she said, finally answering Kade's statement.
"You should be," Kade replied with a grin, "because what we just did is probably illegal in some states."
"Not in this one," Del said, never looking away from the shining blue eyes.
Kade shook her head. A strand of red hair brushed over Del's naked shoulder. "Not in this one," she agreed. "But if we venture out into public like this, it could be considered negligent bodily injury by offensive smell." She indicated their sweat-glistening bodies with a smile.
"Yes, that could be... sticky," Del deadpanned. She was glad Kade felt relaxed and comfortable enough to joke around with her after their intense, emotional experience.
"We could easily prevent that. This apartment comes with a shower, you know," Kade informed her, sounding so regal that Del had to laugh. Kade rolled out of bed and stood on legs that seemed a little wobbly. "Jesus, Del! What have you done to me?" she complained, only halfway joking now. "I can't even walk straight!"
Del slid out of bed on Kade's side. "Then don't walk." She spread her arms invitingly. "Let me carry you."
Kade looked at her. They both knew it was more than just a means of transportation to the shower. Del offered trust, affection, and loyalty – if Kade could overcome her fear of emotional closeness and losing control. The blue eyes looked directly into Del's for long seconds.
Del swallowed but didn't blink, never looking away from Kade. Kade's answer meant a lot to her.
"All right," Kade finally said.
With a delighted smile, Del stepped closer and reached out to sweep Kade into her arms.
Kade stopped her with a quick touch. "On one condition," she bargained.
Maybe she should have been wary of that condition, but Del secretly loved that Kade wasn't giving up her fierce independence altogether. "Which would be...?" she prompted.
Kade folded her arms and took a challenging stance.
Del suppressed a smile. That familiar Matheson stance was much more intimidating when Kade wasn't naked, with tangled hair and a big hickey on her neck.
"That I get to carry you on the way back from the shower," Kade demanded.
Del didn't point out that she was taller and heavier than Kade. She had no doubt that, if she was determined, Kade could carry her back to bed. "Deal," she said, shaking Kade's hand and then kissing it. "That is... if, after helping each other get clean under the shower, we're both not too weak to carry each other anywhere."
Kade took one confident step, so close now that their noses were almost touching. She quickly nipped Del's bottom lip. "Then I'll just have to make sure that you are the one emerging from the shower with wobbly legs," she decided.
Laughing, Del swept her up into her arms and carried her off on legs that were already beginning to feel a little wobbly.
CHAPTER 40
"I LOVE SLEEPING with you," Aiden whispered into Dawn's hair.
Dawn lifted her head off Aiden's chest. Her cheeks were still flushed and her lips swollen from their kisses. "Oh, yeah, that was very obvious a minute ago," she said with a smile.
Aiden chuckled. "No, that's not what I mean."
"No?" Dawn looked up at her questioningly.
Aiden leaned down to kiss the tempting lips again. "I do love to make love with you. After the last..." she turned her head to look at the alarm clock, "...three hours, there should be no doubt about that. But I love sleeping with you too. Holding you when we go to sleep, having you be the first thing I see when I wake up..."
Dawn snuggled closer and closed her eyes. "I love sleeping with you too," she murmured against Aiden's shoulder.
"I never liked sleeping with anyone before. I always needed to have my own space," Aiden continued. Deeply in thought, she painted circles on Dawn's back with her fingertips.
Dawn's eyes snapped open. She lifted herself up on an elbow and looked down at Aiden. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that a lot has changed for me in the last few months. I have changed, and so have you. It's only natural that our relationship would change too." Aiden swallowed. "It scared me a little. Things are going great between us, and I'm happier than I've ever been in my life. I want to hold on to that and not risk doing anything that could screw it up." She exhaled and sank back against the pillow. Finally, she had admitted it, said it out loud to herself and to Dawn.
Dawn trailed her fingers through the hair at Aiden's temple. "Why do you think you'd be the one to screw it up? My history says I'm equally capable of screwing up relationships, you know."
"Meeting Evan and trying to help her deal with her past made me realize I've been making assumptions about myself all my life too," Aiden said, openly looking into Dawn's eyes.
"You're not scared of commitment. You're scared of yourself," Dawn voiced what Aiden hadn't said. "You think that if you let me even closer, let me see all of you without holding anything back, I'll discover something inside you that might hurt me or scare me away."
Aiden nodded slowly. She looked down at her hands that were still stroking Dawn's back.
"Aiden." Dawn laid her palms along both sides of Aiden's face, forcing her to look directly into her eyes. "I've faced evil twice in the last year. I know what it feels and looks like. What I see in you isn't anything like that. You love me, and I love you. If one of us gets hurt, it won't be because of evil lurking inside of you." There was an unshakable conviction in her voice.
Staring into Dawn's eyes at such close range, facing the intensity of her gaze without blinking, made Aiden's eyes tear up.
Before she could wipe her eyes, Dawn leaned down and kissed the tears away.
"If you told me that every night before we go to sleep and every morning when we wake up, I think I could start to believe it after a while," Aiden said, already starting to believe.
"You mean...?" Dawn stared at her with breathless hope.
"The lease on my apartment runs out at the end of next month." Now that Aiden had said it, she was actually starting to feel a little giddy. She knew her fears and worries were still there, but they didn't feel so overwhelming anymore.
Dawn stared at her with a happy grin. "Would you feel comfortable living here?"
"Let's see. I already discovered that I like the bathroom and the bedroom." Aiden winked at Dawn. "Not sure how I feel about the kitchen and living room yet, but you could help me find out."
Dawn pinched her. "Sounds like living with you might be quite the adventure."
Aiden grinned impishly. "I can't promise it'll always be easy, but at least it will never be dull." She studied Dawn expectantly. "So, what do you say?"
Slowly lowering her face until her lips were almost covering Aiden's, Dawn whispered, "Yes."
The End
About The Author
I
GREW UP AMIDST the vineyards and gently sloping hills of southern Germany. I spent most of my childhood with my nose buried in a book, earning me the nickname "professor" before I even finished elementary school. The writing bug bit me at the age of eleven. The very first piece of fiction I ever wrote was a thirty-page western story that I still have somewhere (well-hidden because it alternately makes me cringe and laugh when I read it today). I wrote two dozen mostly novel-length stories (westerns, adventure stories, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction - you name it, I've probably written it) in my "baby years" as a writer, but no one but my poor twin sister ever got to read them.
That changed when I discovered the Internet and the wondrous world of FanFiction and online stories. My parents belatedly got their wish - I took my nose out of my books and started to spend my time glued to the computer screen instead. Soon after, I wrote my first FanFiction, a Star Trek: Voyager story. Don't bother to search for it on the web; even if there was still a copy in circulation somewhere, it's in German. Back then, I would have taken a thousand oaths that I would never, ever be able to write more than a grocery list in English. Then I took an intensive, free online language course - almost eight years of constant fanfic reading. Let's just say that I learned some words I later had trouble explaining to my friends why I would know such expressions.
So in the beginning of 2006, I finally put my newly acquired knowledge of the English language to good use and wrote a series of three Law & Order: SVU fanfics in English. As my confidence grew, I wrote a longer FanFiction and then my first English historical fiction. In some ways, I've come full circle, because "Backwards to Oregon" takes place on the Western Frontier. Other than the setting I promise that it doesn't have much in common with my first childish attempt at writing.
I still live in Germany, where I work as a psychologist. When I'm not working or writing, I like to spend my time reading, cooking for a bunch of friends, spending time with my nephew and niece, and watching way too many crime shows. I also enjoy learning new languages (Russian is my latest project. I haven't found any lesbian online stories using the Cyrillic alphabet to help me learn, though).
Other Titles By This Author
Backwards To Oregon – Lesbian: Historical Fiction, Romance
Summary
"LUKE" HAMILTON has always been sure that she’d never marry. She accepted that she would spend her life alone when she chose to live her life disguised as a man.
After working in a brothel for three years, Nora Macauley has lost all illusions about love. She no longer hopes for a man who will sweep her off her feet and take her away to begin a new, respectable life.
But now they find themselves married and on the way to Oregon in a covered wagon, with two thousand miles ahead of them.
* * *
Conflict of Interest – Book I – Lesbian: Romance, Crime
Summary
WORKAHOLIC detective Aiden Carlisle isn't looking for love... and certainly not at the law enforcement seminar she reluctantly agreed to attend. But their first lecturer is not at all what she expected.
Psychologist Dawn Kinsley has just found her place in life. After a failed relationship with a police officer, she has sworn to herself never to get involved with another cop again, but she feels a connection to Aiden from the very first moment.
Can Aiden keep from crossing the line when a brutal crime threatens to keep them apart... before they've even gotten together?
* * *
Second Nature – Lesbian: Shape-Shifter Romance
Summary
NOVELIST JORIE Price doesn't believe in the existence of shape-shifting creatures or true love. She leads a solitary life, and the paranormal romances she writes are pure fiction for her.
Griffin Westmore knows better — at least about one of these two things. She doesn't believe in love either, but she's one of the not-so-fictional shape-shifters. She's also a Saru — an elite soldier, investigator, and if need be an assassin with the mission to protect the shape-shifters' secret existence at any cost.
When Jorie gets too close to the truth in her latest shape-shifter romance, Griffin is sent to investigate — and if necessary to destroy the manuscript before it's published and to kill the writer.
Back Cover Summary
Next of Kin
Book II – Lesbian: Romance, Crime
SEX CRIMES Detective Aiden Carlisle is slowly getting used to being in a committed relationship with Dawn Kinsley – a relationship that isn't always easy since Dawn is not only a psychologist but also a former victim in one of Aiden's cases. Aiden’s private and professional lives collide when Dawn's newest patient gets in trouble with the law. Will she be able to stay objective enough to solve the case without pushing Dawn away?
The same case also throws Deputy District Attorney Kade Matheson's well-ordered life into chaos. In the last few years, Kade has taken case files and law books, not lovers, to bed. She has been focused only on her career and fought hard to win cases like Dawn's, but now the case forces her to finally face her attraction to women. She suddenly finds herself with two secret admirers – but which one is more dangerous, the threat to her life or her heart?
* * *
Thank You for Purchasing and Reading Next of Kin.
L-Book ePublisher, LLC
Table of Contents
Beginning
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
About The Author
Other Titles By This Author
Back Cover Summary