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Acclaim for Radcly ffe’s Fiction Lambda Literary Award winner “… Stolen Moments is a collection of steamy stories about women who just couldn’t wait. It’s sex when desire overrides reason, and it’s incredibly hot!”— On Our Backs Lambda Literary Award winner “… Distant Shores, Silent Thunder weaves an intricate tapestry about passion and commitment between lovers. The story explores the fragile nature of trust and the sanctuary provided by loving relationships.”— Sapphic Reader

“Lambda Literary and Benjamin Franklin Award finalist The Lonely Hearts Club “…is an ensemble piece that follows the lives [and loves] of three women, with a plot as carefully woven as a fine piece of cloth.”— Midwest Book Review

ForeWord’s Book of the Year finalist Night Call features “…gripping medical drama, characters drawn with depth and compassion, and incredibly hot [love] scenes.” —Just About Write Lambda Literary Award finalist Justice Served delivers a “…crisply written, fast-paced story with twists and turns and keeps us guessing until the final explosive ending.”— Independent Gay Writer Shield of Justice is a “…well-plotted…lovely romance…I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!”—Ann Bannon, author of The Beebo Brinker Chronicles

Lambda Literary Award finalist Turn Back Time is filled with…“wonderful love scenes, which are both tender and hot.”

— MegaScene

Lambda Literary Award finalist When Dreams Tremble’s “…focus on character development is meticulous and comprehensive, filled with angst, regret, and longing, building to the ultimate climax.”

— Just About Write

A Matter of Trust is a “… sexy, powerful love story filled with angst, discovery and passion that captures the uncertainty of first love and its discovery.”— Just About Write

“The author’s brisk mix of political intrigue, fast-paced action, and frequent interludes of lesbian sex and love…in Honor Reclaimed…sure does make for great escapist reading.”

– Q Syndicate

Change of Pace is “… contemporary, yet timeless, not only about sex, but also about love, longing, lust, surprises, chance meetings, planned meetings, fulfilling wild fantasies, and trust.”— Midwest Book Review

“Radcly f fe has once again pulled together all the ingredients of a genuine page-turner, this time adding some new spices into the mix.

shadowland is sure to please—in part because Radcly f fe never loses sight of the fact that she is telling a love story, and a compelling one at that.”—Cameron Abbott, author of To The Edge and An Inexpressible State of Grace

“Innocent Hearts… illustrates that our struggles for acceptance of women loving women is as old as time—only the setting changes.

The romance is sweet, sensual, and touching.”— Just About Write

“Sweet No More…snarls, teases and toes the line between pleasure and pain.”— Best Lesbian Erotica 2008

“Word of Honor takes the reader on a great ride. The sex scenes are incredible…and the story builds to an exciting climax that is as chilling as it is rewarding.”— Midwest Book Review By the Author

Romances

Innocent Hearts

Fated Love

Love’s Melody Lost

Turn Back Time

Love’s Tender Warriors

Promising Hearts

Tomorrow’s Promise

When Dreams Tremble

Passion’s Bright Fury

The Lonely Hearts Club

Love’s Masquerade

Night Call

shadowland

Secrets in the Stone

The Provincetown Tales

Safe Harbor

Storms of Change

Beyond the Breakwater

Winds of Fortune

Distant Shores, Silent Thunder

Returning Tides

Honor Series

Justice Series

Above All, Honor

A Matter of Trust (prequel)

Honor Bound

Shield of Justice

Love & Honor

In Pursuit of Justice

Honor Guards

Justice in the Shadows

Honor Reclaimed

Justice Served

Honor Under Siege

Justice for All

Word of Honor

Erotic Interludes: Change Of Pace

(A Short Story Collection)

Radical Encounters

(An Erotic Short Story Collection)

Stacia Seaman and Radclyffe, eds.:

Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments

Erotic Interludes 3: Lessons in Love

Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions

Erotic Interludes 5: Road Games

Romantic Interludes 1: Discovery

Romantic Interludes 2: Secrets

Visit us at www.boldstrokesbooks.com

RetuRning tides

by

RADCLY f FE

2009

RetuRning tides

© 2009 By Radclyffe. all Rights ReseRved.

isBN 10: 1-60282-123-2e

isBN 13: 978-1-60282-123-1e

This ElEcTronic Book is PuBlishEd By

Bold sTrokEs Books, inc.

P.o. Box 249

VallEy Falls, ny 12185

FirsT EdiTion: noVEmBEr 2009

This is a Work oF FicTion. namEs, characTErs, PlacEs, and incidEnTs arE ThE ProducT oF ThE auThor’s imaGinaTion or arE usEd FicTiTiously. any rEsEmBlancE To acTual PErsons, liVinG or dEad, BusinEss EsTaBlishmEnTs, EVEnTs, or localEs is EnTirEly coincidEnTal.

This Book, or ParTs ThErEoF, may noT BE rEProducEd in any Form WiThouT PErmission.

cRedits

EdiTors: ruTh sTErnGlanTz and sTacia sEaman ProducTion dEsiGn: sTacia sEaman

coVEr arT: BarB kiWak (WWW.kiWak.com) coVEr dEsiGn By shEri (GraPhicarTisT2020@hoTmail.com) Acknowledgments

Writing about a beloved place is an unparalleled pleasure. The characters in this series never live and breathe for me more than they do when I am actually in Provincetown, walking the narrow streets, catching glimpses of sailboats in the harbor, and feeling the hot sun reflected off the sweeping dunes. I am ever so grateful to all the readers who give me a reason to continue to write these stories. Deepest thanks.

Thanks also to first readers Connie, Eva, Jenny, Paula, and Tina; to editors Ruth Sternglantz and Stacia Seaman and the proofreaders who work so tirelessly making me look good; to artist Barb Kiwak for translating my half-described vision into the perfect cover painting; and to Sheri for a brilliant cover design. Deepest gratitude.

And to Lee, for always being the final destination. Amo te.

Radclyffe 2009

Dedication

For Lee

On Every Shore

RetuRning tides

The two figures on the deck were easily visible by the light of the three-quarter moon. From his spot on the deserted, storm-ravaged beach, he could make out the way their arms entwined and their mouths met in a long, passionate kiss. He watched her press herself against the other woman, pretending she was excited. Pretending she could be satisfied by someone like that. He knew better. He knew who she really wanted, what she really needed. He imagined her rubbing her hard-nippled breasts against him with the same abandon, her pelvis rocking on him, inviting him to fuck her. He heard her moans and whimpers, felt his cock gliding through hot swollen flesh. He heard her panting, begging, crying out for release. He smelled her excitement, tasted her arousal in the back of his throat. His cock twitched at the thought of her tightening around him as she came. Begging him to fuck her the way she needed to be fucked. Screaming when she came.

Screaming for him.

With shaking hands, he raised the Rigel 2500 night binocs. The images came into focus, so large and so clear he might have been standing on the deck with them. He could make out her eyelids fluttering as the interloper kissed her and fondled her breasts, long fingers plucking at her nipples through her partly open robe. Her face contorted with pleasure and she let her head fall back, offering her throat—a sacrifice to the unworthy. Her mouth opened in a silent sigh as the other woman kissed her neck and slid a hand inside her robe to cup her breast. Her lids lifted, her expression languid and ripe as she flattened her palms against the other woman’s chest and pushed her away, laughing. She

• 11 •

RAdCLY fFe

tilted her head toward the glass doors behind them. He knew what she was saying. Saying to him.

Take me to bed. I want you to fuck me. I want you to make me scream. Make me scream. Make me scream.

“I will, soon,” he muttered as she disappeared inside and closed the blinds. His head pounded with a mixture of rage and resentment, the pain a muted echo of the insistent throbbing of the erection that strained against his pants. He gripped himself and squeezed so hard tears blurred his vision. “I’ll give you just what you deserve. I promise.”

• 12 •

RetuRning tides

chapteR One

At the sound of a knock on her office door just after nine a.m.

on a crisp, sunny September morning, Acting Sheriff Reese Conlon happily shoved aside a pile of paperwork. In the past six months she’d gone from commanding Marines on the ground in Iraq to manning a chair for twelve hours a day. Even the recent hurricane had only given her an excuse to leave the office during the height of the catastrophe—

she’d been back behind her desk coordinating the cleanup efforts ever since. The transition back to civilian life after having been deployed in wartime was harder than leaving active duty the first time, five years ago. Right about now, almost any interruption was welcome.

“Come in,” Reese said, easing her nearly six-foot frame back in the swivel chair.

The door opened and Carter Wayne, an ex-cop turned small-town attorney, walked in. She wasn’t wearing the designer suit Reese had seen her in a few days before at Provincetown City Hall. Today she was dressed in faded blue jeans, an open-collared, rust-colored silk shirt, and brown boots the same color as her dark chestnut hair. A wide belt with a flat silver buckle circled her sleekly muscled waist. Hazel eyes met Reese’s across the desk.

“Sheriff.”

“Carter,” Reese said, waving to one of the two wooden fold-up chairs in front of her desk. “Have a seat.” When Carter sat down, Reese pushed back from the desk and crossed one ankle over her knee. “What can I do for you?”

“How about a job?”

• 13 •

RAdCLY fFe

“Lawyering starting to wear on you, huh?”

Carter smiled. “I seem to recall you’ve been there yourself. Didn’t you do a stint as a JAG in the Corps?”

“A short one. I still can’t quite remember what made me think I’d rather practice law than drag drunk recruits back to base on a Saturday night,” Reese said with a shake of her head. “Of course, military policing is different than civilian law enforcement. An MP has a fair amount of leeway to interpret the rules and regs. We go by the book here, even when it’s less expedient.”

Reese watched Carter’s eyes as she spoke, but didn’t expect to see anything in them. Carter Wayne was an experienced undercover state police officer, at least she had been until her involvement with the daughter of a reputed mob boss cost Carter her career. Carter had come close to abandoning her duty while undercover investigating Boston crime boss Alfonse Pareto. She’d fallen in love with Pareto’s daughter, Rica Grechi, and run afoul of the FBI. Reese understood risking everything for the woman she loved. There was nothing she wouldn’t do, nothing she wouldn’t sacrifice, to protect Tory or their daughter. But she couldn’t have an officer serve under her who she couldn’t trust.

“I served twelve years, five of them undercover. If I told you I never bent the rules, you wouldn’t believe me,” Carter said, meeting Reese’s deep blue eyes squarely. She’d expected Conlon to lay her past on the line. Carter had spent her entire life working with men and women who believed that the distinction between right and wrong was clear, and who were willing to risk their lives in the name of justice.

She’d been one of them, although the years she’d spent undercover working drug and organized crime cases had dulled the blacks and whites to shades of gray more and more often recently. She’d never met anyone with a stronger code of ethics or greater sense of duty and responsibility than Reese Conlon. She half expected Reese to tell her she didn’t measure up, and maybe by Reese’s standards, she didn’t. But she’d been a good cop, was a good cop. “You can trust me to hold the line. You have my word.”

“What I want,” Reese said, “is your promise that if anything comes up that might make you choose between honoring the badge and protecting your family, you tell me.”

Carter stiffened. “Rica has nothing to do with this.”