Radclyffe - When Dreams Tremble

against the counter nearby. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” Leslie sipped the beer. “Can I ask you something personal?”

The corner of Dev’s mouth rose. “I think we’ve reached that point.”

Unexpectedly uncertain, Leslie studied her beer bottle. “Are you seeing anyone

else?”

Immediately, Dev put her bottle on the counter and cupped

Leslie’s chin. She lifted her face and looked directly into her eyes. “No.

I haven’t been with anyone except you for over a year.” She waited, studying

Leslie’s face. “Natalie and I are friends.”

“I had to ask,” Leslie said quietly. “Because if I think about you with anyone

else it makes me…pretty much insane.”

“I like that.” Dev kissed Leslie softly. “I like that a lot.”

“And I…”

Dev stopped her with another kiss, then eased away and retrieved her beer. Still

watching Leslie, she sipped. “When I was younger, I tortured myself thinking

about you with Mike. Last month, when I thought about you with Rachel, it hurt

so much I couldn’t even let myself get that far. I guess that’s some kind of

progress.”

“There’s no one, Dev. No one I want to touch me except you.”

“I love you, you know,” Dev said softly.

“I love you too. Madly. Do you have any idea what we’re going to do?”

“No,” Dev replied, her expression suddenly unsure.

“Tell you what,” Leslie said, grasping Dev’s hand. “Let’s have dinner with my

parents, because they’ll want to see me and we’ll need to eat if we’re going to

do what I plan on doing for the rest of the night.”

Dev grinned.

“And tomorrow, we’ll talk.”

“That means no touching, then.”

Leslie sighed. “I hope it doesn’t rain, because the only way I can promise that is

if we’re sitting outside in full view of my mother and everyone else in the lodge.”

And considering that just seeing Dev was enough to make her mind melt, she

wasn’t even sure an audience would be enough deterrent.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Do you think my mother will notice if I only show up for meals?” Leslie laced

her Þ ngers through Dev’s as they walked through the woods toward the lodge

for breakfast. “Considering that we disappeared right after dinner last night?”

Dev tugged her to a stop at the edge of the clearing. “If we walk in together

again, and you still have that look on your face, your mother is going to know

what we’ve been doing all night.”

“What look?”

“That ‘I’ve just been fu—’”

“I do not have that look,” Leslie feigned indignation.

Dev dragged her off the trail and pinned her against a tree with the weight of her

body, her forearms on either side of Leslie’s shoulders.

“You do. Your eyes are soft and dreamy,” she kissed Leslie’s eyelids,

“and your lips are a little bit bruised,” she skimmed her tongue over Leslie’s

lower lip, “and it takes you a lonnng time to make sentences.”

She cupped Leslie’s breast and kissed her more seriously. “And you keep

sending me signals that keep me hard all the time.”

“Maybe I want you hard and hungry all the time,” Leslie murmured.

She returned the kiss vigorously, then abruptly pushed Dev away and snuck out

from underneath her arm. She was breathing hard and she was wet again, and

she was almost afraid to let Dev know how much she wanted her every single

second. “But I happen to be hungry for pancakes.”

“Then try to behave while we’re in there,” Dev threatened, seizing Leslie’s hand

once more. “Because you’re driving me crazy.”

“Oh good.”

“Have a heart. I don’t want your mother to see me whimpering and drooling.”

“Why not? She knows we’ve got something going on.”

“She does?” Dev asked in surprise.

“Well, she knows I’ve got the major hots for you.”

“How?”

“Because I told her.”

Dev stopped again. “You did? When?”

Leslie dipped her head, suddenly shy. “More or less all summer. I think she

knew before I did how serious it was.”

“Serious, huh?” Dev circled Leslie’s waist and pulled her close.

She brushed her cheek against Leslie’s, then murmured in her ear,

“How serious?”

“Very.” Leslie wrapped her arms around Dev’s shoulders and leaned her head

on Dev’s shoulder as she watched the mist rise off the lake and burn away in the

early morning sunshine. “We’re never going to make it to the lodge if you keep

grabbing me.”

“Can’t help myself.” Dev stroked Leslie’s hair. “I’ve got a lot of time to make

up for.”

“Could take a while.”

“I know.”

“I’m hungry.”

Dev laughed. “I love you.”

“I love you. Give me a cup of coffee and something to eat and I’ll show you just

how much.”

“Last night you promised to help your father down at the boathouse this

morning.”

Leslie frowned. “I did? That must have been when I was fantasizing about silk

scarves and tying you—”

“Oh yeah. Sounds good.” Dev kissed her quickly. “But we don’t have to do it

all today. We’ve got time.”

“Do we?” Leslie asked softly.

“Remember our deal,” Dev said softly. “Food Þ rst, then go help your father.

We’ll talk this afternoon before we go back to the cabin.”

Leslie nodded seriously, wishing they could pretend just a little while longer that

this magic time would never end. “All right.”

“It will be okay, Les,” Dev said, but her eyes were troubled.

“I know,” Leslie said, wanting fervently to believe.

Dev leaned back on her elbows on the grassy slope, enjoying the sunshine, the

breeze off the lake, and the view. The best part of the view was Leslie, cleaning

and stowing gear under her father’s direction down on the dock. She’d dressed

for dirty work in cut-off blue jeans, a faded T-shirt, and old sneakers. Dev

hadn’t seen her look so casual, or so relaxed, since their last summer in high

school. Leslie was all woman now, but her light laughter ß oating up the hill

reminded Dev of when they were kids and the summer seemed endless. For the

Þ rst time, the memories didn’t hurt.

As Leslie walked up the hill, she studied Dev with a quizzical expression. “What

are you thinking of?”

“You.”

To her surprise, Leslie felt herself blushing. They’d spent nearly every minute

since she’d arrived making love, and there hadn’t been a place on her body Dev

hadn’t touched. But the tender way she spoke as she gazed at her—as if Leslie

were the most beautiful woman in the world—struck a chord far deeper than

even the intense physical passion they had shared. Leslie dropped down next to

Dev and kissed her on the cheek. “What about me?”

“I was just thinking that being with you now has given me back some of the

most important moments of my life.” Dev covered Leslie’s hand with hers. “I

feel like I’ve spent my whole life loving you.” She met Leslie’s gaze. “And it’s all

good, now.”

Leslie’s lips parted as her eyes quickly misted over. “Oh, Dev. I don’t think I

can stand not to be with you.”

With a sigh, Dev sat up and folded her arms on her bent knees.

“I’ve been offered a research position at the Freshwater Institute.”

“In Bolton?” Leslie said, picturing the lab only twenty minutes away from her

parents’ house. Three hours from Manhattan.