Radclyffe - Word of Honor

Cam closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Blair wants to leave for Colorado tomorrow. If we’re closing in on Matheson, I need to be here.”

“All the more reason to spend some time with her now. Take a few hours.”

Cam glanced at the bedside clock. “I’ll be down by noon.”

“I’ll clear everyone out of here so you two can get some rest.”

“You should take a break yourself,” Cam said.

“As soon as I go over things with Felicia.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion, you know.”

“I know.”

“Thanks for handling everything here last night,” Cam said, relenting and sitting back down on the bed. “And thank you for looking after Blair.”

“You don’t need to thank me.” Valerie smiled wryly. “And Blair doesn’t want anyone except you to look after her.”

“All the same, thank you for keeping her safe.”

“You can always count on us to do that.” Valerie paused. “But you can’t keep doing this to her, Cameron.”

Valerie left and Cam slowly removed her clothes. She lay back and closed her eyes, but she couldn’t obliterate the memory of Blair’s torment and the knowledge that she had been the cause of it.

Dana sat on the arm of the sofa in her temporary apartment watching Emory gather her things. “You could always stay here, you know, until we leave tomorrow. You wouldn’t have to pay for another night at the hotel.”

Emory folded the sweats and T-shirt that she’d borrowed from Blair and stacked them on a nearby chair. She wore another outfit of Blair’s, jeans and a dark green sweater, for the trip back to her hotel. She’d had to roll the cuffs of the jeans several times to make up for the difference in their height. “That’s probably not a great idea. Would you mind returning these to Blair later today?”

“Sure. Why is it not a good idea?”

“Are you intentionally being dense?”

Dana grinned. “I try not to make assumptions.”

Emory cut her a look. “There’s something very strange going on between us, and I think it’s better if we get a little distance.”

“It’s called attraction,” Dana said completely seriously, “and I don’t think distance is the answer.”

“What is the answer?”

“Ordinarily, I’d suggest a date,” Dana said, “but I’m here on assignment and my schedule, as you might have noticed, is constantly changing. I can’t very well take you out to dinner when Blair might decide she wants to hop a plane to Colorado.”

Emory shrugged. “You’re right. Bad timing.” She collected her purse and grabbed her coat out of the closet by the door. “Besides, I don’t date women.”

“Yet.”

“You are remarkably sure of yourself.” Emory thought she should probably be annoyed, but she wasn’t really. Part of her wanted to stay exactly where she was. Actually, part of her very much wanted Dana to kiss her. And that was why she knew she should leave.

“I’m not sure of anything where you’re concerned,” Dana said, moving closer. She took Emory’s coat and held it for her. When Emory turned to slip her arms into it, Dana pressed against her back, rubbing her hands over Emory’s shoulders and down her arms. She put her mouth close to Emory’s ear. “But I know the last thing I want is distance between us.” She skimmed Emory’s hair back with the tips of her fingers, exposing her neck, and kissed her softly behind the ear. “If you stay here, we can get to know each other better.”

Emory shivered and closed her eyes, glad that Dana couldn’t see her face because she wouldn’t be able to hide what that kiss had done to her. She leaned her back into the front of Dana’s body and felt Dana’s hands tighten on her arms. Dana’s breath blew hot and fast against her skin. “You’re breaking the no-touch rule.”

“I know,” Dana whispered, her voice husky. “I’m sorry. I stood it as long as I could. God, you smell good.”

“It’s Ivory soap.” Emory laughed shakily.

“Don’t ever wear anything else.” Dana slid her arms around Emory’s waist and slipped her hands inside Emory’s coat, pulling Emory more tightly against her.

Dana’s hands rested on the sweater covering Emory’s abdomen, and Emory could easily imagine those bold and possessive hands on her skin. She couldn’t remember ever wanting to be kissed more than she did at that moment, and she worried that she was allowing herself to be attracted to Dana’s attraction to her. Dana was, after all, infuriatingly charming and relentlessly sexy. “I don’t do one-night stands.”

“Thank you for telling me that,” Dana said quietly, turning Emory to face her. She put her hands back inside Emory’s coat, resting them on her waist just above her hips. She ran her thumbs up and down Emory’s abdomen. “But I don’t want to go to bed with you.”

“You don’t?” Emory had a hard time focusing on anything except the fiercely intent expression in Dana’s eyes and the pleasure that spiraled from beneath Dana’s hands into her depths. She was horribly, terribly aroused and frighteningly close to letting something happen she would regret. And she couldn’t seem to stop.

“No,” Dana murmured. “This is what I want.”

As Dana leaned closer, Emory knew she was about to be kissed, but the reality was nothing like she had expected. True, Dana’s mouth was soft and hot and certain, but Dana was surprisingly patient. She took her time, teasing Emory with the tip of her tongue, waiting for Emory to kiss her back. Caught off guard by the gentle invitation, Emory responded, stroking over the surface of Dana’s lips and tongue because it just felt so damn good. She clasped a hand behind Dana’s neck and sank into her, moving against her in a way completely foreign to her and so completely right. She pulled away from the kiss and struggled to control her out-of-control body. “I don’t…I can’t…”

“Shh,” Dana said as she caressed Emory’s cheek. Her hand trembled. “We’re not. It’s okay.” She kissed her again, slowly, and drew back. Her chest heaved and she fought to steady her breathing. “I was thinking we could start simple. You know, with a kiss or two.”

Emory nodded dumbly, trying to envision kissing her—just kissing—without bursting into flames. Well, she’d never been afraid of a challenge. “Okay. Yes. That sounds reasonable.”

Dana grinned. “Reasonable.”

“You suggested it,” Emory said hotly. “So don’t look so damn supercilious.”

“Hey,” Dana said, raising both hands in surrender. There was no reason Emory had to know she wanted her so badly she ached all over. She needed to get a grip on her runaway libido just as much as Emory needed time to get comfortable with hers. Then they could have a nice, adult interaction with no one getting disappointed or hurt. “I agree. Reasonable is good.”

“You agree?” Emory asked suspiciously.

“I do. Absolutely. How about I walk you back to your hotel. You can tell me all about tissue engineering on the way.”

“All right, but that doesn’t mean I’m coming back here later.”

“I promise. No expectations.” Dana just had to figure out how to convince her body of that.

Blair pulled the shades and stripped by the side of the bed. Slipping under the sheets, she turned on her side to face Cam. She stroked Cam’s hair and kissed her cheek. “Valerie ordered everyone out, and me to bed.”

“And you listened?” Cam teased.

“I could hardly disagree.” Blair snuggled closer, drawing one leg over Cam’s thigh. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. The Motrin kicked in.” Cam urged Blair down into the position they normally slept in, with Blair’s cheek on Cam’s shoulder, and kissed her forehead. “Both of us could stand to get some sleep.”