Radclyffe - Safe Harbor

"Thats what I was hoping."

**********

Reese led her upstairs, urging her gently toward the bed. With infinite care she removed each article of clothing, stopping to explore the enticing landscape of Torys body with her lips and hands, captivated by her delicate strength.

Tory quivered as insistent fingers traced her skin from her breasts down her legs and back up. Reese's teasing lips pressed fleeting kisses everywhere, coaxing Tory's body to ever higher peaks of sensation. As her muscles clenched with the effort of containing her desire, she moaned Reeses name. She grasped Reeses shoulders, her legs tightening around Reeses thigh.

"Im close," Tory whispered raggedly. "Touch me, Reese, please. I need to come so much."

Reese groaned, inflamed by the wet heat of Torys need against her skin. She wanted her so much she didnt think. When she found Tory, swollen with urgency, open and ready, she was driven by some deeply primal instinct to claim her. As if she had been born knowing how, she pushed into her - hard. In a single motion Reese's fingers entered her fully, igniting a chain reaction. Immediately the velvet muscles spasmed around her hand. Reese's thumb rode against Tory's clit at the same time.

"Oh, god!" Tory screamed, her body heaving, her mind melting with the instant orgasm.

Reese pressed deeper as the cataclysmic spasms gave way to small internal contractions. Reese was so consumed by the wonder of it, she was barely breathing. Slowly she became aware of sobs.

"Tory!" Reese gasped in panic, slipping from her, her withdrawal eliciting another sob. "Oh Jesus, did I hurt you?"

"No," Tory whispered, her face pressed against Reeses shoulder, her body still shuddering.

"Are you sure?" Reese persisted fearfully. "I didnt mean to be so rough - god, I dont know what happened! I just wanted you so much!"

She tilted Torys chin, searching her face anxiously. Tory shook her head no, but her cheeks were streaked with tears. Something twisted in Reeses chest, catching at her heart.

"Tory," she choked. "Tory - I swear to you I never meant to hurt you -"

"You didn't hurt me, Reese," Tory managed, drawing a shaky breath. She had never been possessed like that before. She felt like she had been devoured. But what frightened her was not Reeses passion, but how much she had wanted Reese to take her. If Reese hadnt claimed her when she did, Tory knew she would have begged her. What Reese was capable of stirring in her made her a stranger to herself. "You make me so damn helpless, I want you so bad. What you do to me - " What it will do to me now if you leave me -

Reese held her as Tory gentled in her arms, hearing in the silence what Tory had not said. She remembered Catherine speaking of what Tory had lost, understanding the enormity of that pain as she contemplated a life without Tory.

"Tory," she said, her voice soft but crystal clear.

"Yes," Tory questioned as she lay listening to the strong, steady heartbeat beneath her cheek.

"I love you."

Tory was silent a long moment, hearing the words, wondering if she dared allow them inside her. Reese had never held another woman, never made love to another woman - how could she be sure now?

Reese had not expected an answer. Instinctively she knew that it wouldnt be her words, but her constancy, that would eventually convince Tory of the truth of her love. She had spoken because she needed to, and as she said the words, something shifted inside of her. She felt peaceful in a way she never had before. She settled Tory even closer into the curves of her body, her hands gliding the length of Torys back to her buttocks.

"Reese, youre not going to get any sleep tonight if you keep touching me like that," Tory murmured, wanting nothing more at that moment than their closeness.

"Thats okay," Reese laughed contentedly, continuing her caresses. "I dont have to work tomorrow."

Chapter Twenty

Tory reconciled herself to Reeses nightly sojourns through the dunes. She even managed some restless sleep waiting for her to slip into bed beside her in the dark. Reese wasnt due to return to work for a few more days, so she had simply stayed on at Torys. Neither of them discussed exactly what that meant.

Reese had only been back an hour one night when they were awakened by the phone. Tory reached for it with a sigh, thinking how much harder it was going to be to leave her bed with Reese asleep beside her. She didnt want to think about what it would be like when Reese returned to her own home. Reese had fast become a part of her life.

"Dr. King," she answered.

"Doctor," an unfamiliar male voice said apologetically, "this is Officer Jeff Lyons. Sorry to bother you, maam, but Im trying to locate Sheriff Conlon. Ive got a girl on the other line - shes hysterical, and she says she wont talk to anyone except Reese."

"Of course," Tory replied with concern, "shes right here."

"Conlon," Reese said tersely. As she listened to the call patched through to her, her body tensed. "Where are you now? .....Where were you supposed to meet?.....Go home. Ill call you as soon as I find her. I will - I promise you."

Reese replaced the receiver as she climbed out of bed. It was two in the morning.

"What is it?" Tory asked anxiously as Reese began to pull on her uniform, her face tight.

"Briannas missing," Reese said as she checked her revolver. "She and Caroline had a date to meet in the dunes. Brianna didnt show. That was two hours ago. ...What are you doing?"

As Reese spoke, Tory had started hastily dressing. "Im going with you. Well find her faster with two of us looking. And if shes hurt, youre going to need me."

"Right," Reese replied, formulating plans. "Get your Jeep, your medical equipment, and your portable phone. Well keep in touch that way. If we havent found her in an hour, Im going to have to call Nelson. Im hoping it doesnt come to that."

"Where should I look?"

"Im going out to Herring Cove where they were supposed to meet. Why dont you drive down Commercial, then out 6A and circle back to the beach on 6. Look for her motorbike. Maybe she was just late, missed Caroline, and shes hanging out somewhere in town."

Tory could tell by the set of her jaw that Reese did not believe that. "Reese, promise me if theres trouble that youll call for back-up. Your wound isnt healed yet. Your reaction time will be slowed. I cant worry about both of you."

To Torys relief, Reese nodded agreement. "I will. Call me every five minutes with your location." Then, unexpectedly, Reese grasped her shoulders and kissed her with bruising intensity. "Be careful. I dont want you hurt."

As Tory followed Reese downstairs, she knew from the rigid set of her lover's back and the tight expression on her face that Reese was more than a little worried. Reese's attention was already elsewhere as she focused completely on her mission. Tory knew with utter certainty that this single-minded determination was the essence of the woman she loved. To love Reese Conlon meant she must accept what that dedication demanded of Reese, emotionally and physically. Tory doubted she would ever grow accustomed to the danger, but she knew she would have to live with it - because she knew it was no longer possible to stop loving Reese.

Tory drove the length of Commercial Street, slowly canvassing the narrow lanes and alleys intersecting it. Several times she stopped to glance into the few bars and late night hangouts still open. Bri was no where to be found. She circled around past the jetty to Long Point, remembering her own perilous journey out onto the rocks, and the way Reese had suddenly appeared at her side- offering assistance and security as only Reese could. She remembered how great her pain was that night, and the sight of Reese bending over her, administering to her bruised and swollen leg. That was the night she had fallen in love with Reese Conlon.