Sheltering Dunes

Chapter Twenty

Reese pulled into the deserted clinic lot as the first hint of sunrise colored the eastern sky a moody purple. She unlocked the front door and traversed the waiting area with the aid of the faint light coming from the hallway on the far side of the reception desk. She remembered the first time she’d entered the building in the middle of the night after answering a 911 call about a possible break-in. That was the day she’d met Tory. She smiled at the memory of their unexpected meeting in a darkened room and Tory’s swift, very effective self-defense move. If she hadn’t been in so much pain, she would’ve realized she was falling in love at that very moment.

Now all the examining room doors were closed, and her footsteps echoed in the silence, but the walk to Tory’s office was a familiar one. The door was slightly ajar and the reading lamp on the corner of Tory’s overladen desk lit the room with faint yellow light. Tory was asleep on the sofa, partially curled on her side, one arm pillowing her cheek, her legs drawn up. Her right hand rested on her stomach, as if protecting even now what might be growing within. Reese knelt by the sofa and kissed Tory’s forehead. “Hi, baby.”

“Good, you’re back,” Tory murmured, sliding her hand up Reese’s arm and across her shoulder to the back of her neck. She pulled Reese down for another kiss.

Tory’s mouth was warm, her fingers firm and familiar on Reese’s neck. The surge of tenderness and desire she always felt on seeing Tory after they’d been apart kindled in her stomach. “Time to go home.”

Tory kissed her again. “I didn’t know you’d be coming back for me. Thought you’d send Allie or one of the others.”

“Allie is still filling out reports and chasing some leads on the computer. The rest are out looking for the assailant.”

Tory rose up on her elbow and tugged Reese down so she was sitting on the sofa. Then Tory settled her head in Reese’s lap. “Getting anywhere?”

“I’m not sure.” Reese stroked Tory’s cheek.

“You sound worried.”

“I am, a little bit. What you told me about the tattoo—La Mara—it’s a gang tattoo. A particularly nasty gang. I don’t know if what happened here in town is related to that or not, but it stands to reason it could be.”

“And you don’t believe in coincidences.”

Reese sifted strands of Tory’s auburn hair through her fingers, noticing a few new strands of gray. She liked them. Tory got more beautiful every day. “No, I don’t. I at least have to consider that what’s going on has something to do with her gang affiliation.”

“Just how serious might this be?”

“Hard to tell.” Reese heard the concern behind Tory’s question and tried to deflect it. She wasn’t sure how big a problem this might be, and no matter what the situation, she didn’t want Tory worrying about it. “Nothing we can’t handle.”

“You’d say that no matter what you thought.” Tory rubbed her cheek against Reese’s stomach. “I’m never going to break you of the habit of trying to protect me, am I?”

Reese brushed the backs of her fingers over Tory’s cheek. “Probably not. I don’t know any other way to love you.”

“I know that.” Tory caught Reese’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “That’s why I’m not giving you a harder time.”

“You do the same thing, you just hide it better.”

Tory laughed. “Probably. Are you ready to take me home?”

“It’s still really early. We should probably leave Reggie with the grands.”

“You’re right. They won’t mind keeping her. I’ll stop by to see her before I come back to work and make sure everything is all right.”

“Sounds good. Maybe if we get lucky, we can even sleep in for a while.”

Tory sat up and kissed her. “We can always hope.”

*

Mica rolled onto her side with her back to Flynn and drew her knees up, curling in on herself. Flynn wrapped herself around Mica from behind, bending her legs so her hips fit against Mica’s ass. She slipped her arm around Mica’s waist and held her breast in one hand, pillowing her face against the back of Mica’s shoulder. She kissed the curve of her shoulder. “You’re beautiful.”

Mica was silent for so long Flynn wondered if she had gone immediately to sleep.

“I don’t know how to make you come,” Mica finally whispered.

“You don’t have to.”

“You don’t want to?”

Mica was so stiff, Flynn wondered if she was in pain. Maybe the guy had hurt her worse than she’d let on. Flynn instinctively drew her closer. “I never said that. Feeling you get excited, holding you while you came, turned me on really a lot. I’m wet for you. Hard for you.”

“Jesus.” Mica fumbled for Flynn’s hand and gripped Flynn’s fingers tight. “I know how it works, I just don’t know what you want—not sure where to start.”

“Do you want to?”

“Make you come?”

“Yes.”

Mica twisted until she was on her back, staring up at Flynn. “Yeah. I do.”

“You could start by kissing me again. Pretty much drives me right to the edge.”

“Jeez, you’re kind of easy.” Mica grinned a little unevenly.

“Not so much. You’re just mega-sexy.”

“Yeah?”

Mica’s tone was playful on the surface, but a shadow of uncertainty swept across her face. Flynn’s heart twisted. How could she not know how amazing she was? Flynn could barely stand to think of who had touched her before and failed to tell her how special she was. The fury that seethed in her belly gentled her voice. “Like nobody I’ve ever known before.”

“Shut up,” Mica ordered, but she was smiling for real when she slid her arm around Flynn’s shoulders and tugged her down for another kiss.

The kiss was every bit as sweet and hot as the ones before, only now Flynn couldn’t concentrate on the slide of Mica’s mouth on hers. She was tied up in knots inside. When Mica had orgasmed, Flynn’s clit pounded so hard she thought she might come herself. She was still pounding, so tightly wound inside she wondered if she could come at all. She wanted Mica to touch her, but whatever happened between them needed to be Mica’s choice. She doubted Mica had had many choices in her life, especially around sex.

Mica’s fingers trailed down her throat and over her chest. When Mica cupped her breast, Flynn jerked.

“No?” Mica breathed against her mouth.

“Yes, please, yes.” Flynn groaned.

Mica made a humming sound in her throat and squeezed Flynn’s breast gently. Flynn’s nipple hardened against Mica’s palm, and a small strangled sound escaped her throat.

“You like that,” Mica said, no doubt in her voice.

Panting, Flynn nodded. “Yeah, I do. When you do it, I like it.”

Mica nibbled on Flynn’s lower lip and Flynn’s hips started to rock. She needed to come and she didn’t want to push Mica. Maybe she should masturbate, maybe that would make things easier for Mica. She kept her hands fisted at her sides. She wanted to wait, she wanted to let Mica decide. But she wanted to come so bad.

“You’re vibrating.” Mica dragged her teeth down Flynn’s throat.

“Can’t help it. You’re driving me crazy,” Flynn confessed.

“Yeah? Excited, huh?”

“So, so bad. You make me so hot.”

Mica slid her hand down Flynn’s belly. “You’re really tight. I like that.”

Flynn’s arms and legs trembled. Air rushed in and out of her lungs so fast she was light-headed. “Mica, I’m sorry. I want to go slow, but I need you so much.”

“You do?”

Flynn moaned. “So much I can’t stand it.”

Mica drew circles on her stomach with her nails and echoed the movement on Flynn’s breast with her tongue. Electricity shot through Flynn’s belly and struck her clitoris like a high-voltage current. She jerked, her legs quivering.

“If you keep that up, I’ll come.”

“Good.” Mica kissed her way down Flynn’s stomach and nibbled on the taut circle of her belly button. She raked her fingers over Flynn’s lower abdomen and confidently cupped her sex. Flynn thrust against her hand, knowing she was getting her wet.

“You’re in a bad way,” Mica muttered, sounding entirely pleased with herself.

Flynn gasped, circling her hips, desperate to ease the pressure in her clit. “You have no idea.”

“I think I do.” Mica stroked Flynn’s shaft between her fingers. “I think I know what you might be feeling right now.” She continued to caress her, steady and firm.

“You’ll make me come,” Flynn warned. Her eyes were open but she couldn’t see a thing. She was blind with pleasure.

“How soon?” Mica sucked Flynn’s nipple and circled faster between her legs.

“A minute,” Flynn gasped.

Mica tugged on her nipple and sucked it hard into her mouth. The electricity turned into a shock wave and Flynn’s clit exploded.

“Now,” Flynn exclaimed. “Right now.”

And then she was coming all over Mica’s hand, groaning and writhing and totally helpless.

Mica threw one leg over Flynn’s and rubbed her clit against Flynn’s leg while Flynn was coming. Feeling Flynn orgasm, hearing her sobs of relief, made Mica need to come again. The little bit of pressure against her clit was enough to set her off, and she cried out against Flynn’s breast, her mouth brushing Flynn’s nipple. Flynn’s arm came around her, holding her tight, keeping her close.

“Don’t stop,” Flynn gasped. “Keep going, I’ll come again. Oh yeah, just like that. I need you.”

Mica lay half on top of Flynn, quivering, still stroking her. She’d never felt so powerful or so out-of-control in her life. “Come. I want you to come again.”

“I am. So good. So, so good.” Flynn pulled Mica on top of her, settling Mica’s thigh between her legs against her still-pulsing clit. The pressure kept her hard just the way she needed it. She stroked Mica’s back. “You do amazing things to me.”

“You do pretty crazy things to me too.”

Flynn closed her eyes. “I’m so glad.”

Mica sighed, as if she was suddenly weary, and rested her head on Flynn’s shoulder. Flynn wondered how long she had before Mica started to regret what had just happened between them.

*

Allie got home a little before six a.m. She’d tried to be quiet coming in and undressing, but she knew Ash was awake. She could feel her presence in the dark, waiting for her. She crawled into bed, rolled onto her side, and nestled against Ash. Resting her cheek on Ash’s chest, she brought one leg up over Ash’s and wrapped her arm around her. Ash’s hand came into her hair and Allie sighed. She loved being totally connected like this.

“Flynn okay?” Ash asked.

Allie nodded and kissed Ash’s breast. “Pretty banged up, but she’s okay.”

“Get the guy?”

“No. Probably won’t either. At least not right away.”

“Random?”

“On the surface, it looks that way. But—I’m not sure.”

Ash stroked her back and massaged the tightness between her shoulders and Allie snuggled closer. “How do you always find the spot where the knots are?”

“Because you’re mine,” Ash murmured lazily.

“Yeah, yeah.” Allie melted every time Ash said that. She loved being hers. She loved that Ash belonged to her too. Hers and only hers, in all the world. “Reese thinks there’s a gang connection, somehow, with Mica. And I’m pretty sure Flynn is involved with her.”

“Really. I wouldn’t have called that.”

“What? Flynn being involved, or her being involved with that kind of girl?”

“Babe”—Ash tilted Allie’s face up with a finger under her chin and kissed her—“I can see Flynn with a girl, no problem—just as long as it’s not you. I guess I’ve been thinking of her as the stereotypical priest—unadventurous, introverted, traditional.”

Allie laughed. “That’s not Flynn.”

“Guess not.” Ash tucked Allie’s head back under her chin. “So what do you think about Reese’s theory?”

“I’ve been doing some research. If Mica is part of La Mara, it’s bad news. I found a couple of reports of members who tried to get away, and they never made it. One girl turned informer and they tracked her down across three states. Killed her. Same thing for a guy.”

Ash stiffened. “You think that might be what’s going on here?”

“Maybe. I have to talk to Mica again.”

“And Flynn is involved with her?”

“Oh yeah. They went home together.”

“How are you with that?”

Allie caressed Ash’s belly, smiling to herself when Ash sucked in a breath. “That Flynn’s seeing a really cute girl?”

Ash’s hips lifted into Allie’s hand as Allie caressed lower.

“Uh-huh,” Ash gasped.

“Mmm. Doesn’t bother me.” Allie let her fingers drift between Ash’s legs. Ash was hot and wet, unbelievably sexy. “Oh yes.” Leaning up on one elbow, she kissed Ash, stroking with her tongue in time with stroking between her legs. When she stopped to breathe, she said, “But I’m not real happy about Flynn getting mixed up in things.”

“You’ll be careful, right?” Ash turned Allie onto her back and fit her hips between Allie’s thighs. Allie wrapped her legs around Ash’s hips and Ash worked her hand between them and inside her.

“Oh God, baby,” Allie moaned.

“You’ll be careful, right?”

“God yes, yes. Just fuck me.”

Ash pushed deeper and did exactly as Allie demanded. Allie lifted her hips, took her deeper, and forgot about everything except Ash.