KERRY TRUDGED DOWN the hallway and reached the door to their room with a sense of definite, finely drawn relief. She turned the knob and poked her head inside, finding pale blue eyes alertly watching her from the bed. “Hey.” She entered and closed the door, then leaned against it. Dar was sprawled on one side of the plush, canopied bed, her laptop resting on her thighs and her dark hair in appealing disarray.
“Hey,” Dar replied. “I was about to come looking for you.”
Kerry had to smile. “Like that?” She indicated her lover’s state of undress.
“Mmhm.” Dar nodded. “Barefoot and all. I figured I couldn’t possibly attract any more attention than I already had today, so Thicker Than Water 155
what the hell?” She held out a hand. “C’mere.”
Kerry shed her shoes on the way to the bed as Dar shifted the laptop, and they somehow ended up in a warm tangle of limbs and bedding in the middle of the comforter.
“Uhrg,” Kerry groaned.
Dar pulled her closer and rubbed her back with her fingertips. “Kerry, Kerry, Kerry,” she murmured on a breath. “It’s over, sweetheart. It’s over and done with.”
Kerry kept her eyes closed and went almost limp, just absorbing the feel and scent of her lover. “We’re leaving in the morning.
We’re going back to the hotel, getting Mom and Dad, going to the airport, and getting on the first plane larger than a crop duster headed south.”
Dar smiled faintly. “You got it.”
“And I’m never coming back here again,” Kerry whispered.
“Ever.”
Dar just hugged her closer.
“Ker?”
“Mm?”
“You want to take that dress off?”
“No. Do you?”
Dar studied the figure curled up in her arms, her face buried into Dar’s nightshirt. “Well,” she smoothed Kerry’s hair a bit,
“normally I’d jump at the chance, but I’m kinda handicapped on that side.”
Kerry slowly lifted her head, her eyebrows scrunching together as she blinked in the dim light. “Oh, damn. I’m sorry.”
She peered at Dar’s chest. “Why didn’t you say something? I must have been killing you.”
“Nah.” Dar shook her head. “It doesn’t hurt when you press there.” She patted the front of her shoulder. “Only when I lift my arm up.”
“Mmph.” Kerry raked her hair back out of her eyes, rolled onto her side, and gazed down at her now rumpled clothing with a look of sleepy displeasure. “Yeah, I guess I’d better. Damn thing’s uncomfortable as heck anyway.” She squirmed off the bed and stood up, then unzipped the back of her dress and pulled it over her head.
Dar merely sat back, enjoying the view. Kerry had a gorgeous back, a cute little V shape that sloped cleanly down from her compact, but smoothly muscular shoulders, then flared lightly through her slim hips and powerful, lean legs. She had a faint golden tan, and the low lamplight caused shadows to form across her skin as the muscles moved visibly under it.
She could see tension there, too, though. “Aspirin’s in the 156 Melissa Good right front pocket of my bag, if you want.”
Kerry paused in the act of pulling on her Tweety T-shirt. “Did you take your drugs?”
Dar nodded. “Oh yeah.”
Kerry finished pulling down the soft cotton fabric, then fished the bottle of aspirin out of Dar’s bag, along with her bottle of water. “Did I ever mention how much I love how prepared you always are?” She swallowed a few tablets and took a sip of the water. “How did everything work out with the lines in Chicago?”
Dar grimaced. “Maybe we should change planes there tomorrow instead of Detroit, so I can go and kick that bastard’s ass in person.”
Kerry smiled as she trudged back to the bed and climbed back into it. “No, sweetie. You’re going back to Miami with me, and right to Dr. Steve’s.” She laid a finger on Dar’s nose. “He’s going to spank you.”
Pale blue eyes mildly regarded her. “All right, but you’re coming with me. While he’s taking pictures of my insides, he can run some tests on yours.”
Kerry took a breath, obviously caught by surprise. “I don’t think I…”
Dar lifted an eyebrow and smirked.
Kerry sighed, dropping her gaze, then she returned the smile.
“Okay.” She crawled over Dar’s body and nudged her to the left.
“Move over. I don’t want to take chances.” She waited for Dar to comply, then snuggled against her lover’s right side and put her head on her shoulder.
Dar gently massaged the tight muscles in Kerry’s back. A warm puff of air penetrated the fabric on her chest, and she glanced down to see a somber, bleak expression on Kerry’s face.
“Hey.”
Kerry blinked, and a few tears rolled down her cheek to soak Dar’s shirt. “I’m so tired,” she breathed. “My soul hurts, Dar.
Those people trampled all over it.”
At a loss for words, Dar relied on touch instead. She pulled Kerry closer and cuddled with her, wincing as she brought her other arm over to stroke Kerry’s face with light fingertips, catching the tears that continued to fall and brushing them aside.
“Don’t let them get to you, Ker,” she finally said, very softly.
“They’re just assholes.”
Kerry drew in a shaky breath and sniffled. “I know. I just feel like I spent the day as an archery target.” She spread one hand out flat against Dar’s stomach and absorbed the warmth of her skin as it moved with Dar’s breathing. “I feel as bruised as you look.”
“Well,” Dar tenderly kissed her on the head, “we’re both Thicker Than Water 157
gonna head south to heal, then.” Kerry relaxed against her as the tension eased from her body. “You know I felt like taking out a fire hose and spraying that room tonight, doncha?”
Kerry remained very quiet for a moment, then she gave up a surprising giggle.
“Yeah,” Dar went on, her voice a low drawl, “I would have loved to just blast those suckers right down and watch them slip and slide and crack their asses on that parquet floor.”
That image elicited another giggle. Kerry sniffled, rested her chin on Dar’s chest, and gazed up at her through tear filled eyes.
“Can I tell you something?”
“Sure.” Dar gently wiped her face.
“I love you.”
Dar hugged her again. “I love you, too.”
Kerry exhaled and put her head back down. “You know what the worst thing was?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Kyle?”
Kerry nodded against her shoulder. “Yeah.”
“The rest of them are just ignorant bastards. Him, I’d like to put a rifle bullet through.” Dar’s temper rose a little, and her nostrils flared.
Kerry slid her hand under Dar’s shirt and stroked her thigh.
The muscles were tense, and she rubbed her thumb in a tiny circle over them as she considered Dar’s words. Seeing Kyle had been a definitely unpleasant shock. It had brought back a lot of bad memories she’d consciously pushed out of her consideration after she’d broken most ties with her family and thrown herself into her new life with Dar.
It had been easier that way. After all, she had in truth left that part of her past behind her, and the reassuring solidity of her relationship with Dar, along with her ever expanding new job, had filled her wants and needs quite nicely, thank you.
It hit her suddenly. Kerry went very still and almost stopped breathing.
He was gone. Her father was gone.
Her world reversed and turned upside down as an unseen weight came off her. She was aware of Dar’s snug hold, but she floated in limbo for a long moment as she adjusted to a new reality.
He was gone.
Kerry closed her eyes, and all the tension drained out of her, leaving her limp as a dishrag draped comfortably over Dar’s tall frame. Sleep gently overtook her, refusing to erase the smile that now shaped her lips.