You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Read online

  Pearce sat up straight, her hands flat on the desk, her heart suddenly pounding. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” Wynter said. “I saw Angela in the hall. She said you were in here. Why are you sitting in the dark?”

  “Just thinking.” The only light in the room came through the window behind her, the reflection of the halogen lights from the ER parking area slanting across the space between them, illuminating Wynter’s elegant profile with such delicacy she appeared like a dream apparition suddenly come to life. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to tell you I liked the flowers.”

  “I’m sorry about tonight.”

  Wynter reached behind her and turned the lock on the door. Pearce’s mouth went dry as Wynter shrugged out of her long wool coat, draped it on a chair, and walked toward her. She was wearing a dress she hadn’t worn since before she’d gotten pregnant—a red silk scoop-necked sheath that clung to her curves and stopped midthigh.

  “Is that what you were planning on wearing tonight?”

  “For the first part of the evening.” Wynter gripped the arms of Pearce’s chair and pushed it far enough away from the desk that she could settle into Pearce’s lap. She wrapped her arms around Pearce’s neck and kissed her. “Then I planned on you taking it off.”

  Pearce’s head started to pound. She skimmed her hand up Wynter’s thigh and under the hem of the dress. “I love you in this dress.”

  “You’d better love me in anything.” Wynter nipped at Pearce’s lower lip.

  “I love you out of it too.” Pearce kissed Wynter’s throat and buried her face in the curve of her neck, tightening inside as she inhaled Wynter’s distinctive sunshine-and-spice scent. She groaned softly. “You feel so good.”

  Wynter tugged Pearce’s scrub shirt out of her pants and pressed her palm against Pearce’s stomach. “This is just a preview because I know you don’t have much time.”

  “Wynter,” Pearce murmured, rubbing her cheek over the inner curve of Wynter’s breast above the red crescent of silk. “I love you.”

  “I know.” Wynter snagged the tie on Pearce’s scrub pants and pulled. “I loved the flowers. And the date night.”

  “I wanted to do something special.”

  Wynter slid her hand into Pearce’s scrubs and laughed softly. “Commando, Dr. Rifkin?”

  Pearce caressed the outer curve of Wynter’s thigh, the silk teasing over her bare forearm as she stroked higher. She found only soft, warm skin. “You too.”

  “Just being practical.” Wynter sighed and shifted, parting her thighs. “I’ve been thinking about your hands on me since I got your invitation.”

  Pearce traced the seam between Wynter’s thigh and belly to the soft curls at the apex of her thighs. She slowly brushed the base of her clitoris and Wynter gasped, thrusting her hips. Pearce kissed the pulse hammering in Wynter’s throat. “I’ve been thinking about this for weeks.”

  “I’m sorry I haven’t—”

  “No. It’s okay,” Pearce said. “I just…need you.”

  Wynter covered Pearce’s hand, the red silk a whisper between their skin, and pressed Pearce’s fingers deeper between her thighs. She was wet and warm and open. “I need you too. Always.”

  Pearce slipped deeper, cupping her inside and out. Wynter gave a tiny cry and closed her fingers around Pearce’s clitoris. Pearce’s stomach jumped. She didn’t have long. Tightening her arm around Wynter’s waist, she stroked between her legs. Wynter followed her lead, her caresses growing harder, more erratic as her hips rose and fell, riding Pearce’s fingers.

  “I’m going to come, baby,” Wynter warned breathlessly. “Baby, I’m going to come.”

  “Don’t hold back,” Pearce gasped, pressing deeper, her clitoris tingling, the explosion starting. “With you.”

  Wynter arched in her lap, her thighs tightening around Pearce’s hand, holding her inside. The pounding pulse of Wynter’s flesh echoed the thunder in Pearce’s head. She pressed her mouth to Wynter’s breast, shuddering as the storm consumed her.

  Laughing, Wynter collapsed against Pearce’s shoulder. “God, I love making you come.”

  “Ditto.”

  “You’ll have to change your scrubs.”

  “Luckily I have a stash in the closet.”

  “You okay?”

  “Never better.” Pearce dropped her head back and smiled. “Never been happier in my life.”

  “Me neither.” Wynter kissed her again and stood, straightening her dress. “See you at home?”

  “Replay?”

  “That’s a promise.” Wynter tapped a fingertip to Pearce’s mouth. “And, baby, you don’t even have to send me flowers. They’re beautiful, but all I need is you.”

  About the Author

  Radclyffe has written over fifty romance and romantic intrigue novels, dozens of short stories, and, writing as L.L. Raand, has authored a paranormal romance series, The Midnight Hunters.

  She is an eight-time Lambda Literary Award finalist in romance, mystery, and erotica—winning in both romance (Distant Shores, Silent Thunder) and erotica (Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments edited with Stacia Seaman and In Deep Waters 2: Cruising the Strip written with Karin Kallmaker). A member of the Saints and Sinners Literary Hall of Fame, she is also an RWA/FF&P Prism Award winner for Secrets in the Stone, an RWA FTHRW Lories and RWA HODRW winner for Firestorm, an RWA Bean Pot winner for Crossroads, an RWA Laurel Wreath winner for Blood Hunt, and the 2016 Book Buyers Best award winner for Price of Honor. In 2014 she was awarded the Dr. James Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Award by the Lambda Literary Foundation. She is a featured author in the 2015 documentary film Love Between the Covers, from Blueberry Hill Productions.

  She is also the president of Bold Strokes Books, one of the world’s largest independent LGBTQ publishing companies.

  Find her at facebook.com/Radclyffe.BSB, follow her on Twitter @RadclyffeBSB, and visit her website at Radfic.com.

  Books Available From Bold Strokes Books

  Change in Time by Robyn Nyx. Working in the past is hell on your future. The Extractor series: Book Two (978-162639-880-1)

  Love After Hours by Radclyffe. When Gina Antonelli agrees to renovate Carrie Longmire’s new house, she doesn’t welcome Carrie’s overtures at friendship or her own unexpected attraction. A Rivers Community Novel. (978-163555-090-0)

  Nantucket Rose by CF Frizzell. Maggie Jordan can’t wait to convert an historic Nantucket home into a B&B, but doesn’t expect to fall for mariner Ellis Chilton, who has more claim to the house than Maggie realizes. (978-163555-056-6)

  Picture Perfect by Lisa Moreau. Falling in love wasn’t supposed to be part of the stakes for Olive and Gabby, rival photographers in the competition of a lifetime. (978-162639-975-4)

  Set the Stage by Karis Walsh. Actress Emilie Danvers takes the stage again in Ashland, Oregon, little realizing that landscaper Arden Philips is about to offer her a very personal romantic lead role. (978-163555-087-0)

  Strike a Match by Fiona Riley. When their attempts at matchmaking fizzle out, firefighter Sasha and reluctant millionairess Abby find themselves turning to each other to strike a perfect match. (978-162639-999-0)

  The Price of Cash by Ashley Bartlett. Cash Braddock is doing her best to keep her business afloat, stay out of jail, and avoid Detective Kallen. It’s not working. (978-162639-708-8)

  Under Her Wing by Ronica Black. At Angel’s Wings Rescue, dogs are usually the ones saved, but when quiet Kassandra Haden meets outspoken owner Jayden Beaumont, the two stubborn women just might end up saving each other. (978-163555-077-1)

  Underwater Vibes by Mickey Brent. When Hélène, a translator in Brussels, Belgium, meets Sylvie, a young Greek photographer and swim coach, unsettling feelings hijack Hélène’s mind and body—even her poems. (978-163555-002-3)

  A More Perfect Union by Carsen Taite. Major Zoey Granger and DC fixer Rook Daniels risk their reputations for a chance at true love while dealing with a scandal that threatens to rock th
e military. (978-162639-754-5)

  Arrival by Gun Brooke. The spaceship Pathfinder reaches its passengers’ new homeworld where danger lurks in the shadows while Pamas Seclan disembarks and finds unexpected love in young science genius Darmiya Do Voy. (978-162639-859-7)

  Captain’s Choice by VK Powell. Architect Kerstin Anthony’s life is going to plan until Bennett Carlyle, the first girl she ever kissed, is assigned to her latest and most important project, a police district substation. (978-162639-997-6)

  Falling Into Her by Erin Zak. Pam Phillips, widow at the age of forty, meets Kathryn Hawthorne, local Chicago celebrity, and it changes her life forever—in ways she hadn’t even considered possible. (978-163555-092-4)

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  Lucy’s Chance by Jackie D. As a serial killer haunts the streets, Lucy tries to stitch up old wounds with her first love in the wake of a small town’s rapid descent into chaos. (978-163555-027-6)

  Right Here, Right Now by Georgia Beers. When Alicia Wright moves into the office next door to Lacey Chamberlain’s accounting firm, Lacey is about to find out that sometimes the last person you want is exactly the person you need. (978-163555-154-9)

  Strictly Need to Know by MB Austin. Covert operator Maji Rios will do whatever she must to complete her mission, but saving a gorgeous stranger from Russian mobsters was not in her plans. (978-163555-114-3)

  Tailor-Made by Yolanda Wallace. Tailor Grace Henderson doesn’t date clients, but when she meets gender-bending model Dakota Lane, she’s tempted to throw all the rules out the window. (978-163555-081-8)

  Time Will Tell by M. Ullrich. With the ability to time travel, Eva Caldwell will have to decide between having it all and erasing it all. (978-163555-088-7)

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  Dawn’s New Day by TJ Thomas. Can Dawn Oliver and Cam Cooper, two women who have loved and lost, open their hearts to love again? (978-163555-072-6)

  Definite Possibility by Maggie Cummings. Sam Miller is just out for good times, but Lucy Weston makes her realize happily ever after is a definite possibility. (978-162639-909-9)

  Eyes Like Those by Melissa Brayden. Isabel Chase and Taylor Andrews struggle between love and ambition from the writers’ room on one of Hollywood’s hottest TV shows. (978-163555-012-2)

  Heart’s Orders by Jaycie Morrison. Helen Tucker and Tee Owens escape hardscrabble lives to careers in the Women’s Army Corps, but more than their hearts are at risk as friendship blossoms into love. (978-163555-073-3)

  Hiding Out by Kay Bigelow. Treat Dandridge is unaware that her life is in danger from the murderer who is hunting the woman she’s falling in love with, Mickey Heiden. (978-162639-983-9)

  Omnipotence Enough by Sophia Kell Hagin. Can the tiny tool that abducted war veteran Jamie Gwynmorgan accidentally acquires help her escape an unknown enemy to reclaim her stolen life and the woman she deeply loves? (978-163555-037-5)

  Summer’s Cove by Aurora Rey. Emerson Lange moved to Provincetown to live in the moment, but when she meets Darcy Belo and her son Liam, her quest for summer romance becomes a family affair. (978-162639-971-6)

  The Road to Wings by Julie Tizard. Lieutenant Casey Tompkins, air force student pilot, has to fly with the toughest instructor, Captain Kathryn “Hard Ass” Hardesty, fly a supersonic jet, and deal with a growing forbidden attraction. (978-162639-988-4)

  Beauty and the Boss by Ali Vali. Ellis Renois is at the top of the fashion world, but she never expects her summer assistant Charlotte Hamner to tear her heart and her business apart like sharp scissors through cheap material. (978-162639-919-8)

  Fury’s Choice by Brey Willows. When gods walk amongst humans, can two women find a balance between love and faith? (978-162639-869-6)

  Lessons in Desire by MJ Williamz. Can a summer love stand a four-month hiatus and still burn hot? (978-163555-019-1)

  Lightning Chasers by Cass Sellars. For Sydney and Parker, being a couple was never what they had planned. Now they have to fight corruption, murder, and enemies hiding in plain sight just to hold on to each other. Lightning Series, Book Two (978-162639-965-5)

  Summer Fling by Jean Copeland. Still jaded from a breakup years earlier, Kate struggles to trust falling in love again when a summer fling with sexy young singer Jordan rocks her off her feet. (978-162639-981-5)

  Take Me There by Julie Cannon. Adrienne and Sloan know it would be career suicide to mix business with pleasure, however tempting it is. But what’s the harm? They’re both consenting adults. Who would know? (978-162639-917-4)

  The Girl Who Wasn’t Dead by Samantha Boyette. A year ago, someone tried to kill Jenny Lewis. Tonight she’s ready to find out who it was. (978-162639-950-1)

  Unchained Memories by Dena Blake. Can a woman give herself completely when she’s left a piece of herself behind? (978-162639-993-8)

  Walking Through Shadows by Sheri Lewis Wohl. All Molly wanted to do was go backpacking…in her own century. (978-162639-968-6)

  A Lamentation of Swans by Valerie Bronwen. Ariel Montgomery returns to Sea Oats to try to save her broken marriage but soon finds herself also fighting to save her own life and catch a murderer. (978-1-62639-828-3)

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  House of Fate by Barbara Ann Wright. Two women must throw off the lives they’ve known as a guardian and an assassin and save two rival houses before their secrets tear the galaxy apart. (978-1-62639-780-4)

  Planning for Love by Erin Dutton. Could true love be the one thing that wedding coordinator Faith McKenna didn’t plan for? (978-1-62639-954-9)

  Sidebar by Carsen Taite. Judge Camille Avery and her clerk, attorney West Fallon, agree on little except their mutual attraction, but can their relationship and their careers survive a headline-grabbing case? (978-1-62639-752-1)

  Sweet Boy and Wild One by T. L. Hayes. When Rachel Cole meets soulful singer Bobby Layton at an open mic, she is immediately in thrall. What she soon discovers will rock her world in ways she never imagined. (978-1-62639-963-1)

  To Be Determined by Mardi Alexander and Laurie Eichler. Charlie Dickerson escapes her life in the US to rescue Australian wildlife with Pip Atkins, but can they save each other? (978-1-62639-946-4)

  True Colors by Yolanda Wallace. Blogger Robby Rawlins plans to use First Daughter Taylor Crenshaw to get ahead, but she never planned on falling in love with her in the process. (978-1-62639-927-3)

  Unexpected by Jenny Frame. When Dale McGuire falls for Rebecca Harper, the mother of the son she never knew she had, will Rebecca’s troubled past stop them from making the family they both truly crave? (978-1-62639-942-6)