"So you don't believe in that kind of love anymore?" Stark's question was gentle as she continued to trace her fingertips over the smooth skin of Renee's abdomen.

"I didn't think so." Renee reached back a hand and cupped the nape of Stark's neck, drawing her close for a kiss before murmuring against her mouth, "You're making me change my mind."

"Good." Hearing the sadness and longing in Renee's voice, Stark wanted to heal the hurt that had been none of her doing, just because she couldn't bear the thought of Renee in pain for any reason. She kissed the corner of Renee's mouth and embraced her more tightly, cradling one small, firm breast in her pahn as if holding a fragile objet d'art. When Renee moaned softly and wrapped both arms around Stark's neck, Stark unconsciously smoothed her palm down the tight plane of Renee's abdomen until her fingers brushed the down between Renee's thighs.

"Paula," Renee breathed, her hips lifting to the promise of her lover's touch.

Stark trailed the tip of her tongue over the inner surface of Renee's upper lip before pressing deeper into the warm welcome of her mouth. As her tongue caressed her lover's, she eased a finger along either side of Renee's clitoris, squeezing gently.

Renee's body jerked, and she gasped, fingers closing convulsively on Stark's shoulders. Her hips rocked between Stark's legs in time to the pulse that beat between her own thighs. "I'm still so sensitive..! don't know if I can take it..."

"I'll go easy," Stark promised, a note of desperation in her voice. "I want to touch you so much. Please." She slid her hand lower into the slick heat, and Renee whimpered quietly against her neck. Stark's heart pounded and her stomach clenched around the sweet ache of arousal deep inside. "Okay? Honey, okay?"

Shuddering, Renee pressed her lips to Stark's ear. "Do it harder. Do it harder, just like that..."

Scarcely breathing, Stark followed the rise and fall of her lover's questing hips as she stroked over swollen flesh and circled the stiffly prominent bundle of nerves. When she flicked the rigid shaft, Renee made a keening sound and Stark pulled away, afraid she had hurt her.

"No!" Renee cried. "Don't stop. You're...making me... come."

"Oh God," Stark choked, burying her face in Renee's neck as she fondled her to orgasm. I love you.

Renee came with a high thin wail, color bursting behind her eyes and heat blasting along her spine. Back arched, eyes tightly closed, she rode the edge of forever in her lover's arms.

"Ohh," Renee sighed, slumping limply against Stark's chest, her head dropping onto Stark's shoulder. "You have amazing hands."

Arms around her lover, Stark kissed Renee's forehead, the corner of her eye, the tip of her nose. "You're so beautiful when you come. I just want to keep doing it."

Shakily, Renee laughed. "Okay. Sure. Why not. Only... give me a minute to catch my breath." She snuggled closer, then gradually became aware of the staccato rhythm of Stark's heart beating beneath her cheek. "You okay, sweetie?"

"Mmm-hmm."

Renee raised her head and searched Stark's face. She rocked her hips slowly between Stark's thighs. "Sure?"

Pupils dilating with the unexpected pressure, Stark caught her breath at the shaft of pleasure that shot through her. "Uh...that's really nice."

"You know," Renee said quietly, resting her cheek in the curve between Stark's neck and shoulder, "I love to hear you come."

"Yeah?" Stark grew very still.

"Uh-huh. A lot." Renee found Stark's fingers and clasped them in her own, drawing their joined hands between Stark's thighs. She guided their intertwined fingertips over the prominence of Stark's clitoris, her pulse racing as Stark moaned quietly. "Yes," she breathed, "like that."

Eyes closed, Stark nestled her face in Renee's hair, one arm holding her close as the excitement of their twin touches brought her rapidly to a peak. "Feels good...so good. Stay there..."

"You're beautiful," Renee whispered through a throat tight with expectation. Their hands moved in rapid synchrony, and she heard Stark groan again. "Tell me. Tell me what you feel."

"Aches...nice...I want to come." Stark's thighs jumped with the first whisper of release. "It's starting..." Her stomach twitched and jerked and thunder roared through her head.

Renee stopped breathing, her senses completely focused on the hard heat beneath her ringers and the tight stillness of Stark's body. Afraid to break the moment, she remained silent while her mind screamed for Stark to surrender. Her own heart pounded as if she were about to explode. When Stark gave a startled shout and threw her head back with the first shock of orgasm, a cry tore from Renee's throat "Oh, Paula, yes"

"Oh God, oh God," Stark murmured over and over as she clung, shuddering, to Renee.

"Ahh," Renee said on a long breath when Stark collapsed against the pillows. "It's even better when I can hear you and feel you." She scooted around to stretch out beside Stark and then drew her lover into her arms. "I missed you, too."

Pillowing her face against Renee's breast, Stark mumbled, "How long does this last?"

"Does what last, sweetie?" Softly, Renee stroked Stark's face.

"This...incredible happiness."

Renee bit her lip and held Stark's face more closely to her breasts. When she could trust her voice not to quaver, she whispered, "Just as long as we remember how precious these moments are."

Cam leaned a shoulder against the partition that separated Blair's bedroom from the rest of the loft, watching her lover unpack. "Are you sure you're going to be all right?"

"Yes," Blair said without looking around.

"What about changing the dressings? Can I help you do that?"

"I'm going to wait until bedtime when I take a shower. The doctor said I could get it wet tonight." Blair reached for the last of the clothes. "It shouldn't be that difficult."

"Will you call me, if you need something?"

"I'll be fine, darling." Suddenly, Blair stopped in midmotion and sat down on the side of her bed, a stack of T-shirts in her hand. "No, I won't. Hell. I miss you already."

"I can stay." Cam pushed away from the wall, her voice low and intense. I want to stay. Especially now—it's so hard to be away from you,

"The only good thing about the last few days was that we could be together all the time." Blair shook her head, her voice a monotone. "But it's harder here—I don't know why, but it feels like we'd be compromising you professionally."

"That's not what matters." Quickly, Cam closed the distance between them, sat on the bed beside her lover, and encircled her waist with an arm. "I love being with you. I love going to bed with you, waking up with you, just knowing that you're somewhere nearby. I love being able to look up and see you sitting across the room, absorbed in a sketch."

"I love all those things, too." Blair rested her cheek against Cam's shoulder, her fingers curled on the inside of Cam's thigh. "My breast is fine, and there's nothing I can do to hurt it since I don't really even have time to go to the gym. I need to finish two or three canvases by the middle of next week so Diane can get them to the gallery and hung for the show. I've got a ton of things to do around here before we get ready to leave for Camp David."

"And there are probably six piles of paperwork waiting on my desk for me to wade through," Cam agreed. She kissed the corner of Blair's mouth. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to miss you when it's time to go to bed."

"I know," Blair said with a rare note of discouragement in her voice. "Still, with the entire team downstairs and the occasional reporter wandering in and out, I don't think we should start cohabitating up here."

"You're right. I know you're right." Cam sighed, knowing, too, that it would only be harder on them both the longer she stayed. "I'll be downstairs for a few hours, then I'll stop up here before I head over to the apartment."

"That will work out just right," Blair replied, forcing a lighter note into her voice. "When I called Diane from DC to give her the news about the biopsy, she said she wanted to drop over tonight."

"Good." Cam kissed Blair gently, then stood. She settled her hands in her trouser pockets and observed her lover critically. There were shadows under Blair's eyes, and she was pale. "Promise you'll get some rest tonight, okay?"

Blair tilted her head and looked up at Cam with a small smile. "You look a little done-in yourself, Commander."

The corner of Cam's mouth quirked. "Never been better,"

"Uh-huh." Blair laughed, stood quickly, and brushed her mouth over Cam's. "You'd better leave now, because I'm starting to get ideas about how I'd really like to spend the evening. It's been far too long since we've been able to make love."

Cam laughed. "I think it's only been a couple of days."

"Like I said," Blair replied, her voice husky as she drew her hand up the inside of Cam's thigh and cupped her. When she squeezed, Cam gasped. Blair smiled. "Far too long."

Carefully, Cam placed both hands on Blair's waist and bent her head to capture Blair's mouth. Taking care not to press her chest to Blair's breasts, she kissed her deeply, letting her probing tongue satisfy some of her hunger. When she drew away, her heavy-lidded eyes were smoky with desire. "Don't do anything tonight except relax. Promise?"

Blair nodded, stroking Cam's cheek. "I love you. You've been wonderful through this. Thank y—"

"Blair," Cam murmured, catching Blair's fingers in hers and turning her head to press her lips to her lover's palm. She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against Blair's fingers. "Don't thank me for loving you, baby. Nothing has ever made me happier."

"I know you say that," Blair said, tilting her head back and studying Cam's face. "I'm not sure I understand why it makes you happy, but I know that you make me feel like I'm the center of your world."

"You are," Cam said quietly. She brushed her thumb over Blair's lower lip, then along the edge of her jaw until her fingers rested lightly on Blair's cheek. "Do you mind?"

"God, no." Blair gave a shaky laugh. "It scares me sometimes." She saw Cam's brows furrow and added hastily, "Oh, not because I don't want it. Definitely not that. But..because I'd be lost if you stopped."

Cam smiled tenderly. "I won't."

"Funny," Blair murmured just before she kissed her, "but I believe you."

At 2330, eight men assembled in the ready room at the compound in Tennessee. The general was present, as were his four top men. The three newcomers were men who headed their own paramilitary factions—one in South Carolina, one in Nebraska, and the last in Michigan. Each had played a small part in the larger plan that had been underway for over three years. They'd worked together before, including planning the bombing at the federal building in Oklahoma City. Despite the fact that several members had been captured, that had been the first action of the Patriot network on native soil, and they'd had great success recruiting personnel and raising money as a result. Now, an even more daring plan was underway.

"We are prepared to execute our arm of the operation," the general stated with certainty. He glanced at his men. "And these are the patriots who will carry out the ground action."

There were sounds of congratulations as the men shook hands and made introductions. The general continued, "According to the undercover agent's latest report, the target has returned to home base. At this point, our focus must be on her."

"What if there's another snag like there was in France?" the rail-thin, jittery Nebraskan asked. "Those foreigners have mapped out an awfully ambitious plan, and there's lots of ways for it to get fucked up."

"That's true," the general said. "But even if only part of the main operation comes off the way they've laid it out, it will be enough. And regardless of what happens, come September, we will implement our part of the plan." He took his time and met each man's gaze. "Are we all agreed?"

Everyone nodded.

"Very well, then. And may God bless America."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

0015 26 August 2001

C am tapped quietly on Blair's door. She had a key; so did Mac and each team leader. She had never used hers, and wouldn't, unless it was an emergency. When the door opened, she was surprised to find that the woman standing on the opposite side, bare-legged in nothing but an oversized T-shirt, was not her lover.