DAR PINNED A serious look on her face as she watched the inner door open and Kerry appeared. It lasted all of a second before she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh, since the blonde woman was doing a little dance in the middle of her carpet.

“You know what this is, Dar?” Kerry asked her, doing her best Snoopy imitation. “This is a happy nerd dance.”

Dar fell out of her chair, and hit the floor, laughing helplessly.

Kerry paused, delighted at the reaction. “Wow. That was almost as good as seeing that new ’puter.” She put her hands on her hips and smiled, then walked over and extended a hand down to her boss. “Here.”

Dar gripped the hand and allowed herself to be hauled upright, then dusted herself off. “Whew. Didn’t expect that reaction.” She chuckled wryly. “Glad you liked the new box. I told Mark to hold off on changing mine out till you saw yours.”

“It’s awesome,” Kerry enthused. “That screen is so much clearer. My eyes thank you.”

“Mmm.” Dar nodded. “Yeah. That was one of its selling points for me, too.” She walked over to her system and rolled the trackball, then selected a screen. “Couple weeks of reading these convinced me.”

Kerry squinted at the complicated CAD drawing, recognizing the network symbols. “Yow. I see what you mean.” She looked up at Dar.

“Were you getting those headaches again?”

The taller woman nodded mutely.

“Definitely worth it, in that case,” Kerry decided, giving Dar’s nearby leg a pat. “Thanks, Boss.”

Dar grinned, and dialed. “Hey Mark.”

“Uh? Oh. Hi, Boss. What’s up?”

“You missed a dancing nerd up here a minute ago.”

“A wh— Oh, man. I thought you meant the candy for minute. I was gonna say.” Mark laughed. “Hey, Kerry. Like the new box?”


68 Melissa Good

“Oooooo,” Kerry responded. “Very much. Thanks, Mark.”

“Bring mine up.” Dar chuckled. “When you get a chance.”

“I love working for the head geek.” Mark sighed. “Okay. Brent’ll be up in a minute.”

Dar hung up the line and perched on the edge of her desk, folding her arms over her chest with a satisfied expression. “So. You like it, huh?”

She was pleased with her surprise, having hand picked the systems in question.

“Very much.” The blonde woman smiled. “Now, let me get back to my new toy and try to get some work done. Hope those reports are in.”

Dar lost her good humor. “Ah. Me too. Apparently our slimy friend has relations in sticky places. Alastair’s getting pressured to rehire him.”

Kerry’s jaw dropped. “I know, I know. I’ve got Mark checking. But you keep your eye out for solid stuff, too.”

“That sucks,” Kerry replied forthrightly. “He’s big time trouble, Dar.

I’ll tell you what, I’m going to contact that woman from the account they just got. She was really upset about whatever they had over her. Maybe I can get her to talk now.”

“Good.” The executive looked up as the door swung open, and an audio visual cart entered, pushed by a short, stocky man in his early twenties, with a pugnacious buzz cut. “Thanks, Brent.”

“No problem, ma’am,” the tech stated briskly, visibly holding back from a salute. “I’ll get this hooked right up.”

Kerry peeked at him from around Dar’s desk. “Hi, Brent.”

The man visibly blushed. “Morning, ma’am.”

“Did you set up my new system, too?” the blonde woman inquired, a tiny, playful smile crossing her lips. “If you did, thanks.”

Furtively, he looked at her. “Yeah, that was me. No problem.” He messed around with some cables, then peeked up again. “If you want the cords tied back a different way, or anything let me know, okay?”

“I sure will.” Kerry caught his eye and smiled, making him almost drop the keyboard he’d picked up. Brent had a well known crush on her, and she wasn’t above tweaking him just a little because of it. Besides, he was cute and almost painfully shy, and Kerry liked him for his accuracy and good attitude.

“Can’t plug a mouse in there, Brent.” Dar’s voice rumbled dryly from across the desk. “Try the round hole.”

Kerry decided to leave before she caused the poor man any more trouble. “I’ll get those reports to you.” She waved her fingers at Dar and slipped through the back hallway door, closing it behind her.

Dar took pity on the tech. She strolled away from her desk and ended up at the window, gazing out over the water with an air of serene patience she’d rented from somewhere and kept in her drawer for special occasions. She thought of her dancing nerd, and the glass reflected back a cheerful grin as she waited for Brent to finish.


Chapter

Eight

“UGH.” KERRY CLOSED her eyes and allowed Dar to steer her inside the condo, where a cold blast of refreshing air conditioning immediately dried the sweat on her forehead. “I feel like an airboat rolled over me.” They’d just gotten back from the island gym, and she was fiercely regretting the two weeks of slacking off while she was traveling. It had been a really long day at work as well, and with the two combined, Kerry felt like crawling into bed right that very instant and curling up into a ball of exhausted and sore muscles, both physical and mental.

Chino wriggled in Dar’s arms, and now the taller woman leaned closer, and allowed the Labrador puppy to lick Kerry’s face. “C’mon.

How about we share a shower, then relax? I’ve got my stuff all packed, so…”

Ah. Kerry forced her eyes open. That’s right. Tomorrow was Friday, and Dar’s flight up to Connecticut. She hadn’t had the chance the past few days to broach the subject of joining her, so now... She sighed. Now she’d have to find a moment and just accept whatever answer Dar gave her.

It was bothering her lover badly, she knew. Dar had been very quiet the past few days, almost withdrawn, and had taken to retreating into silent reserve, obviously deep in thought. Kerry had been caught between her anxiety and the understanding that this was one area Dar kept her barriers up about. Well, maybe after they relaxed a little, she could test the waters. And speaking of waters... “Shower. Mmm.”

Dar set Chino down then put their bags on the couch before she led Kerry into the bathroom. She turned the water on before she stripped the smaller woman’s workout gear off.

Kerry blinked wearily, sucking in a breath before she gathered some energy and did the same for her partner. “What a day.”

“Mmhmm,” Dar agreed, tugging Kerry’s sports bra off, then tickling her under her arm. “Got some bad news right before we left. Our friend David Ankow’s supposed to be here on Monday.”

“Ugh. Great. Just great.” Kerry stifled a yawn, then tugged Dar along with her as they entered the large octagonal stall shower, where warm water hit them. “Boy, that feels good.”

Dar picked up a sponge and poured some body wash on it, then scrubbed Kerry, beginning with her shoulders, then moving down her 70 Melissa Good strong back as the blonde woman simply fell against her. “Yeah, it sure does,” she teased.

“Mmm.” Kerry nuzzled her, taking a playful nip as her hands circled Dar and ran lightly over her lover’s powerful body. “Are you still mad at me for that cake?” She felt the movement as Dar laughed. “You were so cute yesterday. My god, Dar, I’ve never seen you blush like that before.”

Dar made a gurgling noise. “I can’t believe you let them do that.”

“Let them?”

Her lover sighed. “It…no, it was nice. Thank you. I appreciated it, Kerry. I was just…um…”

“Surprised?”

“Yeah.”

“That was the point.” Kerry captured the sponge and made little soapy sculptures across Dar’s belly. There were lots of little valleys and ridges there for her to explore now, and she made sure all of them were clean, hitting several ticklish spots and getting soap flying all over when Dar laughed and her abs contracted. “You’ve got a nice laugh. Have I ever told you that?”

Dar lathered up Kerry’s hair, scratching her behind the ears where she had a sensitive spot and making her utter a little moan of pleasure.

“No, you hadn’t mentioned that before,” she rumbled. “Have I ever told you you’ve got really tasty ears?” She explored one with tiny nibbles.

A mewling sound escaped the smaller woman, as the weariness of the day fell away from her, banished by a rush of energy. Her skin tingled and her touch changed from playful to seductive, getting an immediate response from Dar, as she nuzzled sensitive areas and stepped forward, pressing her body against her lover’s and reveling in the skin on skin contact.

A dilemma. Kerry was losing the ability to really decide, but she wondered if the effort of getting out of the shower would be worth the greater comfort of the waterbed. Then Dar slid a knee between hers, and she was beyond caring, wanting Dar’s touch with an intensity that was almost scary.

The water’s pressure alternated with Dar’s touch, and she forgot about the day, concentrating only on the skin under her fingertips, and the taste of Dar’s lips, and the rapidly building sensations that made it hard to breathe. Then the world tilted, and she was vaguely aware of being lifted up, and the chill of the air conditioning, and the warm, slightly rough texture of the sheets as she was put gently down, and the touch became relentless.

She surrendered to it gladly.

DAR WASN’T SLEEPING, Kerry realized, as she lay tangled in the sheets and her lover, contentedly somnolent in the low light. She tilted her head and confirmed her thoughts, seeing the half open eyes pensively regarding the ceiling. “Mmm.”


Eye of the Storm 71

Blue eyes opened wider, and Dar’s head inclined. “Thought you were asleep.”

“Almost,” Kerry admitted, tracing the thin line of very fine hairs that went down the center of Dar’s chest. “Why aren’t you?”

“I was thinking.”

Kerry nodded solemnly. “About tomorrow?”

Dar exhaled heavily. “Yeah.”

“Is it going to be a big ceremony?” Kerry probed, very gently.

Long silence, and Kerry had decided Dar wasn’t going to answer when she did.

“Probably. My mother has a fairly large family, five brothers and sisters.” Dar paused. “Lots of cousins…friends...”

“Who you haven’t seen in a while.”

“Mmm.”

“They going to be surprised?” Kerry whispered, getting a short, wry chuckle in return. “I bet they are.”

“Last time I saw most of them was at the service for my father.”

Dar’s voice spoke from the darkness, colored with a sad pain she usually didn’t exhibit. “Going back there just rakes that whole scene up again for me. I felt very alone among all of them.”

“Sounds pretty awful.”

“It was. They’re all pretty intelligent…sophisticated. I had always gotten the idea that they looked down on Dad, because he wasn’t that kind of person. I know. My mother didn’t take him to big family gatherings a lot.” Dar spoke slowly and awkwardly. “God knows I was far from…I really wasn’t very polished back then, let’s just put it that way. I felt…pretty small, with all of them looking at me…the way I was dressed.

My world was so different than theirs.”

“Dar, you’re not the same person you were then,” Kerry murmured, hurting for her.

“I know. But that was a very bad time for me,” Dar admitted. “Brings up all kinds of nasty memories.”

Kerry rubbed Dar’s skin with tender fingers. “I’m glad you decided to talk about it. I was getting sort of worried. I know it’s hard for you.”

With her ear pressed against Dar’s chest, she could hear the irregular heartbeat and feel the increase in her lover’s breathing. “Is there anything I can to do help you?”

The heartbeat skipped, then sped up a few beats.

Kerry waited through the silence then started a soothing trace over Dar’s skin.

“No. I’ll be all right.”

“Dar.” Kerry laid her hand flat on her lover’s stomach. “You’re my best friend. If you can’t ask me, who can you ask?”

“It’s…juvenile,” Dar muttered.

“C’mon, Dar. Cough it up. Do you want to take one of my teddy bears?” Kerry asked, in a gently kidding tone.

“No.” The blue eyes were now looking at her, glints of light in the 72 Melissa Good gloom.

“Do you want me to go along with you?” Kerry felt the movement under her fingers stop for what seemed like a long time.

Dar shifted, as though her body wanted to escape, but was being pinned in place by Kerry’s weight and her own will. “I can’t ask you to do that…and it’s too late anyway,” the dark haired woman muttered. “But thank you for offering.”