Annie paused as she pushed her trousers over her hips. “Hollis, you’re the first.”

“What?” All Hollis could see were Annie’s breasts rising tight nippled and full, mesmerizing in their exquisiteness. Annie’s belly was long and sloped, the incision Hollis had made in it hidden by the golden curls between her thighs. Annie was young and lovely and gloriously female. Hollis ached to drop to her knees and bury her face against Annie’s belly. She took one step forward until only inches separated them. “The first what?”

“The first woman, the only woman,” Annie said.

“You’re…I’m…” Hollis drew Annie close and kissed her forehead, her eyes, her mouth. “Annie. I love you.”

“Then teach me to love you.”

“You already know how.” Hollis undressed Annie the rest of the way and knelt, cradling Annie’s hips. She kissed her thighs and her belly, then pressed her cheek where her mouth had been. Annie’s hands came into her hair, fitful and restless. She kissed Annie’s belly, open-mouthed, tasting her. “I want you everywhere, so much. If there’s anything you need, anything—”

“You,” Annie said, her fingers tightening in Hollis’s hair. “I need you. Just you, Hollis.”

Hollis rose and guided Annie to the bed, pushing the covers down with one hand so Annie could stretch out on the sheets. Hollis followed, leaning over her to kiss her again and again. She slicked her tongue over Annie’s lips, between them and into her mouth, soft kisses, exploring kisses, teasing and tasting. She stroked Annie’s breasts, her belly, the soft creamy skin of her inner thighs. She skated teeth down the column of Annie’s throat to the hollow between her collarbones and rubbed her cheek over Annie’s breasts. When Annie gasped and arched upward, she took a nipple into her mouth and tugged it gently with her lips. Then her teeth.

“Oh God!” Annie gripped the back of Hollis’s neck. “Hollis, I need you to…more, I need you more.”

Hollis shuddered, caging her restraint with every ounce of willpower she possessed. She wanted more too. She wanted more of Annie in her mouth, under her hands, beneath her body. She wanted Annie everywhere against her and inside her. Everything. She wanted everything.

“Annie.” Hollis slid onto Annie, pushing her thighs apart so she could settle between her legs—against the heart of her. Her breasts brushed over Annie’s center and Annie cried out in shocked surprise. Hollis kissed the junction of her thighs, pressed her forehead to Annie’s stomach. “I need to make you come.”

“Oh God, yes,” Annie whispered.

Hollis glanced up, saw Annie watching, and slowly lowered her head. She licked her, drew her in, sucked and stroked until Annie was hard and pulsating against her tongue. When Annie’s hips bucked, she filled her, driving her up and over. Annie came around her fingers, in her mouth, in long hard bursts. Annie’s cries of pleasure made Hollis’s heart pound between her legs, an exquisite pressure driving her mad. Still inside her, Hollis rose up and kissed Annie again, hard and deep, taking her, claiming her.

Annie’s nails raked Hollis’s back and dug into her ass. Annie’s thigh rose hard between Hollis’s legs, crushing her clit against satin skin.

“You’re going to make me come,” Hollis groaned.

Annie laughed, wild and joyful. “Oh yes. Yes.”

Hollis rode the length of Annie’s leg, still stroking inside her. When Annie cried out and came, Hollis followed, alive at last.

*

Annie traced aimless circles over the sculpted muscles of Hollis’s chest, caressing the exquisite rise of her breast and the tantalizing peak of her nipple. She could touch her forever and never satisfy the newfound hunger that lashed through her every time she looked at her. “I want you again.”

“I’m not sure I can go again,” Hollis said in a thick, lazy murmur.

“Really?” Annie nibbled at Hollis’s throat, rewarded by a deep shudder that rolled through Hollis’s gorgeous body. “I think you should’ve warned me earlier about your stamina problem.”

Hollis raised her head and managed to open one eye. “Problem? Really? Is that so?”

“Mmm.” Annie grinned.

“Is that so.” Hollis flipped Annie onto her back.

“Hey!” Annie squirmed and found herself pinned. Her pulse jumped and she was instantly wet. “Hollis. You make me crazy.”

“Good.”

“Don’t tease,” Annie whispered. Hollis rose over her, her face looming inches away, her body wonderfully heavy on top of her. Annie arched, her super-sensitive clit trapped against Hollis’s hard thigh. Her heart raced. She loved the feeling of power she got from driving Hollis beyond her remarkable control. “I have needs, remember?”

Hollis, her eyes glinting darkly, nipped her lip. “Do you, now?”

Annie gasped. “I do.”

Hollis’s hips pushed down harder between her legs, and the blood surged in her clit. Annie wrapped her legs around Hollis’s ass, felt Hollis’s muscles clench, felt herself start to climb again.

“What you do to me,” Annie sighed.

“You make me feel so much. More than I thought possible.” Hollis pressed her face to Annie’s neck. She kissed Annie’s throat, the curve of her ear, her mouth again. “I want to make you mine. I’ve never wanted anything so much in my life.”

Annie gripped Hollis’s shoulders and cleaved to her, feeling her orgasm surge closer. She held on as long as she could, the flood of pleasure threatening to drown her. She kept her eyes open as she came, letting Hollis see the truth for herself. “I’m yours.”

Hollis’s heart threatened to explode. Annie was so beautiful, so giving. She whispered, “I will always love you.”

Eyes glazed with pleasure, Annie’s neck arched as the last tremors shook her. Her body softened beneath Hollis, warm and languid. “See? I knew you had that in you.”

Laughing, Hollis rolled onto her back and cradled Annie’s head on her shoulder. “Couldn’t let my reputation be tarnished.”

Annie drew her thigh over Hollis’s and stroked her stomach. “No worries there.”

Hollis sucked in a breath. Her clit swelled and pumped. “Annie…”

“Hmm?” Annie stroked lower, gently took Hollis’s clit between her fingers. “Here?”

“Yes.” Hollis clenched her jaws. She was so close, so close already. A whimper escaped her.

“Oh yes,” Annie breathed, her mouth moving over Hollis’s breast. “You are so ready for me.”

“Please,” Hollis gasped.

Annie’s fingers moved faster. “I want you to be mine too.”

“I am.” Hollis kissed her, a white-hot blaze burning through her. “Always yours.”

Chapter Twenty-nine

Hollis halted on the sidewalk in front of Annie’s car. “Are you sure you want me to come with you?”

“Very sure.” Annie smiled. They’d been out of bed exactly twenty minutes, just enough time to shower and grab coffee and toast before Annie needed to leave to pick up Callie. Thank God it was Saturday and neither of them had rounds scheduled. She wasn’t sure her brain was functioning—only her body seemed to be working, and that was in overdrive. She couldn’t get within two feet of Hollis without wanting her again. “If it was up to me, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight for the rest of the weekend.”

Hollis grinned. “That works for me—except I promised to go riding with Quinn and Arly at least once.”

“Well,” Annie said slowly, running her finger down the center of Hollis’s stomach and hooking the tip inside her waistband, “I suppose I could do without you for a little while.”

Hollis grabbed her, pulled her close, and kissed her. She leaned back, her arms still looped around Annie’s waist. “I hope not for too long.”

Annie still wasn’t used to the flood of love and desire that crashed through her every time she looked at Hollis. She’d scarcely dared move when she’d awakened in Hollis’s arms, afraid she might break the spell. And then she’d stirred and Hollis had kissed her and she’d realized the dream was real. Every moment they shared was magic, and the magic didn’t have to end. She threaded her arms around Hollis’s neck and kissed her back. “Not very long at all.”

“Good.” Hollis didn’t move as an elderly man walking an ancient poodle turned the corner and headed their way. Annie held her tighter. Hollis grinned as the man gave her a cheery wave. Rubbing her cheek against Annie’s hair, she murmured, “You smell so good. So sweet.”

“Hollis,” Annie breathed. “We have to go. I can’t think with you touching me.”

“Okay. I’ll let go for now.” Hollis quickly stepped away and slid her hands into her back pockets. If she didn’t keep her hands occupied, she’d have them on Annie again. “Maybe we can take Callie out for a bike ride later.”

“She’d love that.” Annie started around the car, stopped. She walked back to Hollis and kissed her. “I love you so much.”

Hollis’s heart skittered in her chest. “I love you like crazy. Someday, I want…”

Annie searched Hollis’s face. She so rarely sounded uncertain. Now, her eyes were filled with questions. “What, sweetheart. What is it you want?”

“I want us—the three of us, you, me, and Callie—to be a family.”

“Oh,” Annie gasped. “You take my breath away.”

Hollis laughed, forgetting she said she wouldn’t touch. She leaned against the car and snugged Annie against her front. “Is that a yes?”

Annie pressed her face to Hollis’s neck, fighting tears. She’d never really believed that people cried out of happiness, but now she realized they did. “Yes. That is very definitely a yes.”

“Well then, let’s go get the kid so I can get working on that family thing.”

“Believe me,” Annie said, “you don’t have far to go.”

*

Mid-afternoon on race day, Callie jumped from foot to foot in front of Annie, peering up the long stretch of highway leading into Atlantic City that had been cordoned off for the riders. “Mommy, when will Hollis get here?”

“Soon, baby.” Annie shielded her eyes and searched in the same direction.

Beside her, Honor said, “The last announcement said the first riders were only two miles away. Any minute now.”

A wave of colored jerseys appeared around the bend, and the fastest cyclists streamed past them toward the finish line a block from the Atlantic shore. More riders appeared and the street filled up.

Jack stood on an ice chest, Honor steadying him with a hand on the back of his T-shirt. He pointed and shouted, “Arly! Arly!”

“She’ll be here soon, honey,” Honor said, readjusting his red Phillies cap.

“Mommy,” Callie said, “can I ride with Hollis and Arly and Quinn next year?”

Annie stroked Callie’s hair. “Maybe not next year, baby. This is a really long race. But there will be other ones you’ll be able to do soon.”

“You too?”

Annie laughed and glanced at Honor, who grinned and rolled her eyes. “We’ll see.”

Callie edged closer to Jack, her attention on the steady stream of riders passing a few feet away.

Honor said quietly, “Rumor has it you and Hollis are moving in together.”

“Let me guess—Linda?”

“I never reveal my sources. However, now that a certain flight nurse is sidelined until the baby comes next month, she’s taken a serious interest in all the hospital news.”

“Uh-huh. Like I said.” Annie smiled. “Callie and I are moving into Hollis’s at the end of the month. As soon as Hollis and I—well, Hollis realIy…I just hold tools and things—finish Callie’s room.”

“That’s great. She looks happy—you both do.”

“Oh, I am. She’s…amazing.” Annie blushed.

“Mmm-hmm.” Honor laughed. “Rumor also has it the high-risk OB clinic is opening next month with joint staffing from PMC and GWWC.”

“Also true. We’re just working out the schedule now.” Annie caught her breath as she recognized Hollis’s red jersey and dark blue shorts. Then she spotted Quinn and Arly. “Here they come.”

“They made it—they all look good too,” Honor said. “Come on, let’s meet them over by the finish line.”

Annie took Callie’s hand and followed Honor and Jack through the crowd. By the time they reached the finish line, Quinn, Arly, and Hollis had parked their bikes in the shade of a stand of pine trees and were pulling off their gloves and helmets. The breeze wafting in from the ocean ruffled Hollis’s dark hair and Annie’s throat tightened. Hers. That beautiful woman was hers.

Callie raced away. “Hollis!”

Hollis saw Callie and grinned. “Hey, Cal!”

“I saw you coming from way far away,” Callie cried, spreading her arms wide.

Hollis bent down, scooped her up, and spun around. “Did you? Where’s Mommy?”

“Right here.” Annie slipped her arm around Hollis’s waist and kissed her cheek. “Congratulations, baby. You looked awesome.”