Returning Tides Page 3

  Rica laughed and stroked Carter’s cheek. “Darling, you wouldn’t last an hour.” At Carter’s look of mock hurt, Rica kissed her lingeringly. “You know I don’t mind. I love to make you lose control.”

  “Rica,” Carter warned. “Don’t tease if you’re not going to finish.”

  “I’m going to finish. Just not right now.” Rica grasped Carter’s hands and stepped back, keeping her fingers threaded through Carter’s. “You’re worried about my father. He can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do. My spending time at the gallery in Manhattan won’t make any difference. Try not to worry.”

  Carter nodded. “All right.”

  “What happened when you talked to Reese?”

  “I’ll be spending my nights in a patrol car again,” Carter said with a grin.

  “Are you going to be all right with that?” Rica asked gently.

  “Perfectly fine.” Carter kissed Rica on the nose. “Piece of cake.”

  Rica searched Carter’s eyes for some sign of disappointment. Carter had been a decorated officer in the Massachusetts State Police, but because of her association with Rica she’d been interrogated by the FBI, her professional integrity had been called into question, and some of her colleagues no longer trusted her. Carter insisted her decision to walk away from her career as an undercover detective had nothing to do with their relationship, but Rica wondered if Carter had been completely honest with herself. Rica had seen that Carter was bored with practicing law after just a few months even though she insisted otherwise, and her boredom wasn’t just because small-town law lacked challenges. Carter would have been dissatisfied in a big-city law office too. Carter was a cop, not a lawyer, but starting over again in a small provincial department had to be hard for her.

  “Stop looking for something that isn’t there,” Carter said. “I’m okay with this. I’m grateful Conlon is willing to take me on.”

  “Why wouldn’t she want you? Because of my father?” Rica asked angrily.

  “Hell no. Baby, that’s not what I meant.” Carter drew Rica over to the love seat that was crammed, along with Rica’s desk and file cabinets, into the small back room Rica used as her business office at the gallery. Sitting, she tugged Rica down on her lap and wrapped her arms around her waist. She kissed the base of her throat. “You and your father have nothing to do with the trouble I got myself into. Conlon knows I played fast and loose with the feds and some of the guys on my team. She’s a straight-up, by-the-book commander. She won’t look the other way for anything.”

  Rica threaded her fingers through Carter’s thick chestnut hair. She loved her strength. She loved her passion and her devotion. She hated to think of the sacrifices Carter had made for her, but she would not dishonor those sacrifices by seeming ungrateful. “I love you.”

  With a sigh, Carter rested her cheek between Rica’s breasts. “For a long time, I didn’t know who I was or what mattered. Now I do. I know who I am because of you, Rica.”

  “You’re mine,” Rica whispered, holding her close.

  *

  “Adam seven,” Gladys’s voice intoned over the cruiser’s radio, “you copy?”

  “Adam seven, go ahead,” Allie answered.

  “Reese wants you code thirteen.”

  “Affirmative, Adam seven code thirteen.” Allie glanced at Bri, who met her eyes and shrugged. Reese wanted them back at the station. Allie hooked the mic back on the dashboard. “Well, hell. There goes my chance to make a date for tonight.”

  “You got all afternoon, and it won’t take you but a minute and a smile.”

  Allie laughed. “You’re good for my ego, Parker. I’m not really worried about it. There’s always someone at the Vixen looking for company.”

  “Uh-huh.” Bri made a U-turn in Michael Shay’s parking lot and headed back down Bradford toward the center of town. “Are you okay about Ash?” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Allie’s hands clench into fists. She probably shouldn’t have said anything, but usually when Allie was this hot for a date, it was because she was hurting or there was something she wanted to forget, or both. “I mean, you didn’t know she was coming or anything, did y—”

  “How would I know she was coming?” Allie shot back. “It’s not like we’ve been talking. I haven’t heard from her in months. We both moved on, remember? And I’m not one of those dykes who likes to play best friends with all of her exes.”

  “You’re friends with Deo,” Bri pointed out quietly.

  “Deo and I slept together a couple of times. She’s a sweetheart and I really like her. Besides,” Allie said moodily, “I was never in lo…”

  Bri glanced over at her. “What, Al? What were you going to say?”

  Allie bit her lip and shook her head. After a minute, she said quietly, “Nothing. I wasn’t going to say anything at all.”

  Chapter Three

  “You can go on in. Sheriff’s waiting,” Gladys said when Bri and Allie walked into the office.

  Bri shot Allie a quick glance, tapped on Reese’s door, and pushed it open. Reese looked up from her desk and motioned them in.

  “There’s been a change in the duty roster,” Reese said. “Parker, I’m switching you to nights for the next couple of weeks. You’ll ride with Officer Wayne.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Reese noted the look of displeasure cross Bri’s face, but unlike a year ago when she would have argued, Bri merely stared straight ahead. She was young still, not yet twenty-three, but she had a natural instinct for the job. Plus, five years of dedicated martial arts training had taught her restraint, if not true patience. That would come. Allie Tremont was a different story. She was a skilled officer, smart and dedicated, but she lacked Bri’s steadiness, as if some part of her was still searching for a solid foundation. Reese knew of Allie’s fast-and-loose reputation—the town was too small not to know just about everybody’s business. But Allie never missed a shift or showed up for work impaired in any way, unless Reese counted lack of sleep. But being exhausted was not a disciplinary offense. If it were, she’d have to put herself on report along with just about every other officer in her department.

  “Tremont,” Reese said.

  Allie straightened, her eyes wary. “Sheriff?”

  “I need you as liaison with Ash Walker. She’s going to be looking into—”

  “Let Bri do it,” Allie exclaimed. “I’ll ride with Wayne.”

  Bri sucked in a breath and muttered, “Al. Shut up.”

  “That was an order, not a request for advice, Officer.” Reese had expected one or both of her young officers to complain about being split up. Bri and Allie had gone through the academy together. They were used to working with each other and they were friends. Riding separately for a few weeks would give them a chance to develop skills in the areas where they depended on the other now. Bri was a loner. There was nothing wrong with that, but if she was going to command one day, she needed to learn how to read people. How to evaluate those she would lead. Right now Bri let Allie handle a lot of the interpersonal parts of the job. Riding with Carter would force her out of her comfort zone.

  Allie, for her part, was too comfortable with Bri taking charge. Working as the department’s rep with Ash would give her a chance to develop her own style and approach to problem-solving. However, Allie wasn’t complaining about the partnership being split up, she was complaining about working with Walker.

  “Is there some reason you don’t want to work with Walker?” Reese asked. “Some problem with her I should know about?”

  “No ma’am. Nothing of that nature,” Allie said stiffly.

  “Then unless there’s a professional problem—which I expect you to bring to my attention,” Reese said, reaching for the next pile of paperwork, “I want you to contact Walker immediately to review her schedule and get her anything she needs. I also expect you to coordinate her site visits on a daily basis and accompany her to any claim where we have open files. Maybe we can clear some of the backlog
. Parker, you’re off duty until midnight tonight. You’re dismissed.”

  “Ma’am,” both Allie and Bri said simultaneously.

  Reese did not look up as they left.

  *

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Allie snarled as soon as Reese’s door closed behind them.

  “Not here, Allie,” Bri said urgently when Gladys and one of the other officers glanced their way curiously. She grabbed Allie’s arm and dragged her down the hall leading to the locker rooms. “You know better than to complain about an order in front of the others.”

  Allie stopped in the hall and rounded on Bri. “It’s bullshit and you know it! Jesus, Bri, half the town is still underwater and we’ve got all we can do to investigate complaints. Sticking me with a babysitting—”

  “Fuck, Al.” Bri grabbed Allie by the shoulders, frog-marched her the rest of the way to the locker room, and pushed her through the door with a hand in the middle of her back. “Do you want to get suspended? You think Reese is going to put up with you mouthing off about your assignment in hearing range of the squad?”

  “And what’s this about putting you with Carter? Why not put Wayne with one of the guys on the night shift—Smith has been around longer than you have!”

  Silently, Bri agreed with her, but she wasn’t going to say so. She liked riding with Allie. She liked working the day shift too, even though she had to do her fair amount of night duty when her name came around in rotation. When she worked nights she got to see a lot less of Carre, and that always made her edgy and put her off her game. Sleeping next to Carre replenished some vital part of her spirit. But Reese was her boss, and more importantly, Bri trusted her. “Reese must have her reasons. That’s why she’s the sheriff.”

  “Fuck that.” Allie abruptly turned her back on Bri. “I’m not doing it.”

  “Just take a few minutes to cool off,” Bri said after a long pause. This wasn’t the Allie she knew. That Allie always had a who-gives-a-damn smile and a smart comeback when things didn’t go her way. From the way Allie’s shoulders were shaking slightly, Bri thought she might be crying. Crap. Taking a tentative step closer, she rested her hands on Allie’s shoulders. “Hey, Al. What’s going on?”

  Wordlessly, Allie shook her head. She reached up to cover Bri’s hands with hers and leaned back against Bri’s chest. The move put her practically in Bri’s arms, and for a couple of seconds, Bri panicked. But she wasn’t getting the old Allie sex vibe, and although she was glad for it, she was also nervous. She didn’t have a clue what to do for the new Allie.

  “If you want me to talk to Reese for you, I will,” Bri said finally.

  Allie laughed, a short, choked laugh, and dropped her head against Bri’s shoulder. “Wow. You must really be worried.”

  “Hey,” Bri said, trying to lighten the mood. “I know you’re still really pissed at Ash. I don’t blame you for not wanting to work with her.”

  “Yeah, I’m pissed at her. But I’ve been pissed at you before too. This is different.” Allie let go of Bri’s hands and turned to face her. “She hurt me, Bri. She really hurt me.”

  “I’m sorry, Al.” Bri hated feeling so helpless, and she hated Allie hurting.

  “Me too,” Allie said flatly, the expression in her eyes unforgiving. “Me too.”

  *

  “Hey, baby!” Caroline Clark smiled brightly when Bri walked into their apartment in the middle of the afternoon. She put her paintbrush down on the easel and wiped her hands on a clean cloth. “If I’d known you were coming home, I would’ve made lunch or something.”

  “I didn’t know myself.” Bri hung her gun belt over the back of a kitchen chair, put her weapon in the top drawer next to the sink, and unbuckled her belt. Caroline had pulled her shoulder-length flaxen hair back in a ponytail, and with her smooth skin and big baby blues, she still looked sixteen instead of twenty-two. “I’m not hungry for lunch.”

  “Um, baby?” Caroline’s eyebrows rose as Bri unzipped her pants, stepped out of them, and draped them over the chair. By the time Bri started on the buttons on her uniform shirt Caroline had reached her and joined in. Nothing turned her on faster than Bri being hot for her. “You can tell me later why you’re here. How much time do we have?”

  Laughing, Bri wrapped her arms around Caroline’s waist and nibbled at her neck. “Until about eleven thirty tonight. Reese just switched me to nights.”

  “Oh damn.” Caroline stripped off Bri’s shirt, tugged up the bottom of the tight tank she wore beneath it, and ran her hands over Bri’s chest. “I hate not sleeping with you.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.” Bri popped the button on Caroline’s jeans and pushed them down. Then she reached under Caroline’s T-shirt, released the clasp on her bra, and skimmed them both over Caroline’s head. Leaving Caroline just in her panties, Bri walked her backward toward the bedroom. “Maybe I can make it up to you a little bit right now.”

  When the backs of Caroline’s knees hit the bed, she flopped down and pulled Bri on top of her. Caroline spread her legs so Bri’s naked thigh came to rest high up between her legs, and hooked one ankle around Bri’s calf. She tilted her pelvis and rubbed herself over Bri’s thigh. “You can make it up to me a lot right now, baby.”

  “That was my plan, babe.” Bri shot her a cocky grin.

  Caroline worked her hands under Bri’s tank and played with her nipples, laughing when Bri squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. She loved teasing her tough-girl lover. Bri tried so hard to be brave and strong, and she was. She really was. From the very first day they’d met in high school, Bri had stood up for them, against their peers and their parents and those who wanted to hurt them for daring to love each other. And then she joined the sheriff’s department and put her heart and soul and body on the line every day, still trying to do the right thing. A few people knew the softer side of her, but only Caroline really knew how tender she was, how sometimes in the night she’d cry out in her sleep, trembling, until Caroline pulled her close. Bri needed her and wasn’t ashamed to admit it, and that’s all that mattered between them. Caroline arched up and kissed Bri. “I love you.”

  Bri met Caroline’s gaze, the deep blue of her eyes turning stormy with excitement. Hands shaking, she yanked off her top and fumbled with her briefs. Caroline reached down to help her.

  “Fuck, you make me so hot, babe,” Bri muttered as she got up on her knees to get the last of her clothing off.

  “I know.” Caroline sighed with satisfaction and quickly shed her panties. She grasped Bri’s hand and pulled it between her legs. She was wet. “That’s what happened the minute you walked in the door.”

  Bri groaned and slipped inside her. Leaning on one elbow, she kissed her slow and deep. While she gently slid in and out of Caroline’s warm, tight depths, she licked the inside of Caroline’s lips and teased her tongue. “I want you to come. I love it when you come.”

  “Don’t think…you’re getting off with just a quickie.” Caroline gripped the thick dark hair at the back of Bri’s neck, arching against her as her hips lifted and fell with each thrust of Bri’s hand. She shivered, her legs tightening. “Oh, damn. Dammit. I’m going to come right away.”

  “Feel me inside you,” Bri said with fierce concentration, avidly watching Caroline’s face. She angled her palm to hit Caroline’s clitoris and Caroline’s inner muscles spasmed. “Oh yeah. Here it comes.”

  “Uh-huh,” Caroline gasped, “right now.”

  Bri rolled half on top of Caroline, straddling Caroline’s thigh and burying her face in Caroline’s neck. Pulling the soft flesh between her lips, she sucked as Caroline pulsed around her fingers. With two hard thrusts of her hips, she came.

  “You cheated,” Caroline protested a few minutes later, stroking the back of Bri’s head.

  “Can’t help it,” Bri mumbled, her head pillowed on Caroline’s shoulder, her fingers still deep inside her. “Love you.”

  “So how come you’re home early?” Caroline kissed Bri’s forehead, felt
around for the sheet, and covered them. “You’re not in trouble, are you?”

  “Nah.” Bri couldn’t move and didn’t even try to open her eyes. The late-afternoon sun coming through the skylight over their heads warmed her shoulders. She felt so peaceful, so safe. “Carter Wayne just joined the department, and I’ve got to ride with her on the late shift for a couple of weeks.”

  “Okay. That explains why you’re home. Any special reason you’re so horny?”

  Bri sighed and lightly stroked between Caroline’s legs. She remembered the pain in Allie’s eyes earlier, and never ever wanted to do anything to put that look in Caroline’s. “It’s you, babe. It’s just you.”

  Caroline took advantage of Bri’s relaxed state and pushed her over onto her back. Then she made her way down between her legs. Right before she put her mouth on her, she said, “I’ll always be here, baby. Always.”

  *

  Ash took stock of the three-room suite she’d been lucky to score at the Crown. The bedroom was set off on the short end of an L, with a small gas fireplace occupying the corner. The long arm of the suite contained a sitting area with a desk and a spacious bath on the far side of that, and at the end closest to the door from the courtyard, an efficiency kitchen. Compared to the many Motel 6 equivalents she’d stayed in over the last month, this place was a palace. After having traveled most of the night, she was looking forward to a shower and change of clothes before she started to work again.

  A knock sounded at the door, and assuming the attendant had returned with the extra towels she’d requested, she called come in. Opening her suitcase on the bed, she added over her shoulder, “Go ahead and leave them on the counter in the kitchen. Thanks.”

  When she heard the door close, she pushed down her jeans, pulled off her polo shirt, and headed for the bathroom in her briefs. She stumbled to a stop when she realized she wasn’t alone. Covering her nakedness seemed ridiculous when the woman standing just inside her door had seen all of her in far more compromising positions. Watching Allie’s eyes widen and skim down her body, she almost covered her breasts when she felt her nipples harden.