Everyone turned to look at her.
“You all interested in going out on the water next weekend? We can do a cookout on the beach, that kinda thing,” Dar said. She’d caught Kerry flat-footed by surprise, she knew, and the way Kerry’s expression 56 Melissa Good read, she half expected her lover to reach over and check her for fever.
Mark accepted instantly. “Sure. Sounds great.”
“Yes, I agree,” Mariana recovered. “Thanks, Dar. What a great idea.”
“Absolutely.” Duks nodded solemnly. “I will bring the beer.”
Dar sucked on her milk, enjoying the sensation she’d caused. It was the first time, she acknowledged, that she’d instigated a party, usually leaving Kerry to do the social arrangements for them. Well, she decided, it was about damn time.
Yeah.
THE COOL BREEZE blew across the patio, ruffling the soft cotton of Dar’s pants leg as she pushed against the stone wall with one bare foot, rocking them gently in the net swing chair they’d recently installed. It was just big enough for two people, providing those two people really liked each other, and a comfortable way to sit and watch the moonlight travel across the water. Kerry was curled up in her arms, and they both held glasses of sweet white wine for sipping.
“You surprised me today,” Kerry murmured.
“With the party?”
“Mm.”
Dar had her eyes closed. “Good surprise or bad surprise?”
“That’s not a serious question, is it?” Kerry asked. “Of course it was a great surprise, and a great idea, by the way.”
“Good.” Dar rested her cheek against Kerry’s head. “I sort of figured anything that involved water, boats, sun, food, and beer would be okay with you.” She felt Kerry’s body shake as she laughed. “I’m just warning you, if you and Mark decide to have a belching competition again, I’m gonna tape it, convert it to an mpeg, and broadcast it companywide on Monday.”
Kerry laughed harder, almost spilling her wine. “You wouldn’t.”
Dar chuckled. “You wanna stake your dignity on that?” She put her glass down on the table next to them and put both her arms around Kerry. “Feeling any better, by the way?”
Kerry let her chuckles wind down into a sigh. “Yeah, thanks for asking.” She put her now empty glass down next to Dar’s and folded her hands over her lover’s. She caught a hint of smoke in the air from the beach club, mixed with the salt tang of the sea, and decided life just couldn’t get too much better than this. “Clarice made an appointment to come see me after Thanksgiving.”
“Mm.”
“She kept making pointed comments, I kept ignoring them.” Kerry yawned a bit. “I think I found her something in product development, though.”
“If she gets too obnoxious, let me know,” Dar rumbled. “I don’t Red Sky At Morning 57
want her taking potshots at you.”
Kerry tilted her head to observe the angular profile above her. “I can handle her, Dar. It’s not her fault she picked my personal property to get a crush on.”
Both of Dar’s eyebrows lifted. “Hmm. Maybe we’d better go back to that leather place and get me a leash and collar,” she suggested with a smile. “I could get your name on it in rhinestones. What do you think?”
“I dare you.” Kerry regretted the words the instant they came out of her mouth. “Oh, no, wait—forget I said that, Dar. Just erase it from your— Don’t you look at me like that!” Kerry reached up and tweaked Dar’s nose. “Stop it! Just don’t you even think about it.”
Dar pouted. “You don’t think I’d look good as a love slave?”
Kerry’s nostrils flared. “Ooh.” She blinked. “Now there’s an image.”
They both started laughing. “Dar, you’re a lot of things, but submissive isn’t one of them,” Kerry told her fondly. “Putting a collar on you would be like tying a bow on the tail of a tiger.” She grinned.
“Pretty, but definitely not functional.”
Dar gave her a little squeeze. “I’d do it for you,” she said. “Because you do own me, body and soul. You know that, right?”
“I do?” Kerry murmured.
Dar nodded.
“What an incredible gift that is.” The words were a mere whisper.
“Especially since I think you know I feel the same way.” Kerry ran a delicate fingertip over Dar’s lips. “I’ll take good care of you, Dar. I promise.”
“Does that mean you’ll get me a leather collar after all?” Dar teased.
“Dar, c’mon.” Kerry had to smile, though. “Maybe you should get me a collar.” She countered. “I should have been spanked with a newspaper for that stunt I pulled in New York.”
Her partner regarded her. “What would you wear it with? Your kickboxing gi?” She pondered, “We could get you one in each color.”
She reached over and tweaked Kerry’s nose. “And would you stop beating yourself over the head about that damned plane flight already?”
Kerry chuckled silently, letting her head rest against Dar’s chest, savoring the salt touched breeze. Then she drew in a breath and bit her lip, stifling a laugh. “Oh, you know, I think I do have something they’d go with.”
“You do?” Dar cocked her head.
“I went shopping while you were gone.”
“Uh oh.” The dark-haired woman chuckled nervously. “I wasn’t gone that long.”
“Hehehe.” Kerry hid her face with one hand. “You ever have one of those spur of the moment fits of insanity?” She sighed. “My inner 58 Melissa Good radical took over and I got…um…”
“Pierced?”
“Blurp.” Kerry bit her tongue as she tried to get her jaw shut without removing it from harms way first. “Dar! Don’t you think you’d have noticed?”
“Mm.” Dar started unbuttoning Kerry’s shirt. “I’d better make sure.
Hold still.” She persevered, despite her partner’s squirming and helpless laughter. “Oo…what’s that in there? Oh, wait. Sorry.”
“Bbrr…” Kerry resorted to biting Dar in the hand, as hers were trapped against her body. “Thifs nof a prisici!”
“Defintely too warm for that. Think of what it would feel like with a…” Dar yelped as the pressure increased against the sensitive space between her thumb and forefinger. “Okay…okay!”
Kerry waited, her teeth poised, gazing up at her partner from between slightly shaggy bangs as they each dared the other to continue.
“I only have fangs for you, Paladar,” Kerry warned, giving Dar as much of a steely glare as she was capable of.
“Okay, I give.” Dar relented, putting her arms around Kerry and hugging her as she settled warily back. They swayed for a brief while in silence, watching as a pair of gulls came in off the beach and circled over the stairs downward, creeling hopefully at them.
Kerry finally sighed. “I’m really an idiot.”
Half in a daze, Dar started. “Huh?”
“I knew I’d feel like squirrel poo if I asked you to bail me out, and I did it anyway.” Kerry admitted. “So now I have to deal with feeling like squirrel poo and having to face Clarice every day.”
“Ker.” Dar tightened her hold. “To hell with her. I’ll fire her ass if she bugs you.”
“Dar!” Kerry’s voice sharpened. “You can’t just fire people because they piss me off!”
“Sure I can,” her partner disagreed mildly. “But if you want to spoil my fun, just tell her there isn’t a place for her here. Make her go back to Chicago, or take a hike.”
Kerry sighed again and rested her forehead against her hand.
“Ker.”
“I know. It’s water under the bridge.” With a small shake of her body, Kerry visibly pushed the thought off and gathered herself together. “C’mon. Let’s go inside and I’ll show you the freaky scandalous thing I got.”