Solley's skin pebbled under Gin's gaze rather than the cool seawater. Her caramel-colored swimsuit was now soaked a deep toffee. Beads of water quivered on her bronzed curves.

Secretly she was pleased that her mishap had scored a warm fl ash of those dark eyes. Flirting mildly with Gin felt safe, and her confi dence was slowly beginning to build.

"If we go out round the point into Cherry Cove we can tie up at the pontoon at Charlie's Bar and grab an early c.o.c.ktail?"

Gin said above the thrum of the motor.

"Yes, a c.o.c.ktail sounds lovely."

They'd brought water to sip, but a late afternoon drink at the famous fl oating bar seemed a decadent and fantastic end to their relaxing afternoon. Okay, so it wasn't a date. But this little sliver of quality time defi nitely had her looking at Gin with new eyes. Fresh eyes, even. And she'd fl exed a tiny bit of fl irtin' muscle. She remembered her new mantra and applauded herself inwardly for at last being a little braver.

"Is it bad to be having so much fun without my kids?"

Solley's fi ngers slid slightly on the moisture-beaded highball gla.s.s as she sipped her daiquiri.

a 68 a Gin laughed. "Everyone needs a break, even you. You're on vacation, too, don't forget."

Smiling, Solley shifted her gaze from Gin's distracting body to the fl oating wooden starfi sh that was Charlie's Bar.

A long walkway connected the popular venue to the sh.o.r.e, so the sun seekers of Cherry Cove could dawdle up for a colorful beverage when they needed a break from sand and surf. The cove was a loud and busy public beach, a complete contrast to the quiet and solitude of the privately owned La Sirena Verde.

Well, quiet when a stunt crew wasn't fi lming there.

Small craft bobbed alongside, allowing the crew to step along the pontoons to the central circular c.o.c.ktail bar. The gentle Pacifi c roll that made Cherry Cove so popular among swimmers also provided the bar's occupants with a soothing sway. Lounging under the cool shade of the thatched parasol roof while being caressed by warm breezes, made Charlie's one of the most pleasant places to stop by for a drink.

"Thank you for the afternoon," Solley said. "It's been great fun. I loved seeing the seals up close."

"When I visit here, I always go out to watch them. I could sit for hours just listening to the gulls and the waves against the hull. Next time we should bring the kids." Gin broke off, realizing there might not be a next time. Embarra.s.sed, she fi ddled with her straw, not sure how to rescue the conversation.

"Sorry, I was just thinking, if there's some time in the future when we're all visiting again..."

Solley let her fl ounder in silence for a few seconds before taking pity and rescuing her. "Hey, let's not invent more troubles than we already have. This is an afternoon for my memory book, a lovely day to look back on, no matter what happens. So, thank you."

Relieved, Gin grinned. "Janie said you'd love it."

a 69 a "Janie?"

"Yeah, she suggested it. She thought it would do you good to get away from the kids for a while."

Anger swelled like a fl ood tide in Solley's chest. Janie had set her up. That interfering, matchmaking little sneak. Why couldn't she just let her make her own decisions in her own G.o.dd.a.m.n time? Hiding her irritation, she smiled sedately at Gin before downing her drink in several long, angry gulps.

Gin blinked at the decimation of the c.o.c.ktail in seconds fl at. "Can I get you another one?"

"No, thank you. It's getting late and the kids are bound to be home by now. Maybe we should get back."

"Oh...no problem." Gin looked a little confused. "Is everything okay? Did I say something?"

"No, not at all."

Solley wished Gin hadn't picked up on her souring mood.

It piqued her that Janie wasn't far wrong about her frustration level. Hadn't she just preened in the boat for Gin like some witless bimbo, all legs and t.i.ts? It was pointless to deny that she was s.e.xually attracted to the woman. And if Janie had seen how deep it ran, who else had noticed? Solley felt dismayed and exposed...and h.o.r.n.y. Incredibly, hopelessly h.o.r.n.y. d.a.m.n it!

a 70 a

CHAPTER SIX.

The last rays of the sun had just dipped below the horizon when Solley and Gin fi nally strolled up from the jetty toward the house. The evening air was warm, and the sound of happy voices and the smell of barbeque drifted over the dunes to greet them. It felt good, like truly coming home.

Simultaneously, they smiled at each other, eyes locking for the merest instant. But in Solley's guts that brief glance felt like a year-long fall down a dark well. She put the children to bed soon after dinner, and Marsha and Janie retired early, too. Gin went into town with a few of the crew members for a drink and work gossip, so Solley found herself alone. She sat outdoors, contentedly listening to the waves, fi nishing a beer.

Sometime after eleven o'clock the pad of quiet footsteps on the deck behind her announced Gin's return.

"Hey, there. Everyone gone to bed?"

"Yeah." Solley's pulse surged off the meter. Trying to sound casual, she said, "Want a beer? There's plenty in the fridge."

Gin went into the house and returned with a beer for each of them. She sat down beside Solley on the top step. "It's a beautiful night."

"It is. I'm so lucky Janie and Marsha have a home here.

And that they like being invaded by visitors."

a 71 a "Me, too. Your family has made my summer." Gin smiled shyly. "And I've really enjoyed getting to know you."

Their eyes locked and Solley felt the reverberation of her dream, deep inside her belly. Her breathing became shallow as she gazed into the same black depths that had monopolized her afternoon. Reason and logic drained away with the suction of quicksand. Time, and the world around her, seemed to freeze.

Mesmerized, she was drawn irresistibly toward those eyes and the warm, full lips just inches from her own. Gin's dark gaze encompa.s.sed hers, silent and unwavering.

This is how she does it. Solley's last coherent thought drifted through her head as she slowly leant forward, her eyes locked on the beer-moistened lips . She hypnotizes women into being s.e.x slaves. This was what f.u.c.kicide felt like.

As their lips softly touched, Gin gave a small involuntary gasp, and Solley, driven by years of lackl.u.s.ter love, deepened the kiss pa.s.sionately. As she slid her tongue across Gin's lower lip, she heard a m.u.f.fl ed sigh and Gin grasped her shoulders, gripping her tightly. Her urgent response and deep moan were rocket fuel to Solley's ardor, and she intensifi ed the kiss. Her red-hot temperament not only emerged in anger, it was also the source of a dormant but volcanic pa.s.sion she now instinctively unleashed. A dam had burst. Never had she felt so blissfully out of control. This was pure, unadulterated l.u.s.t.

White light seemed to streak through her fevered mind as she fumbled with the tiny b.u.t.tons of Gin's fi ne cotton shirt.

After a sharp tug, the garment parted to reveal small, fi rm b.r.e.a.s.t.s topped with deliciously dark nipples. Solley's hurried attentions hardened them, extending the taut tips. G.o.d, Solley groaned, how many years of worship had made them so fi rm and long? They were like cigar b.u.t.ts. Pulling one into her mouth, she bathed it with hard strokes of her tongue as she rolled the other between her fi ngers.

a 72 a She heard Gin mutter her name between soft cries. The hands kneading her shoulders trembled. Abandoning the succulent breast tissue, Solley ran her tongue from clavicle to earlobe. Gin groaned again and Solley became aware of frantic hands pulling at her, squeezing her upper arms. Words cut into her consciousness.

"Solley, we can't do this." Gin's voice was thick and throaty. Her skin was fl ushed and heated, her dark eyes glowing and unfocused.

"Why?" Solley drew back, breathing hard.

"You've made it clear what the risks would be. I want to make love with you, but I know what's going to happen tomorrow. You'll wake up in a panic and tell me your life is ruined and you're going to lose your kids because we couldn't keep our pants zipped up."

Aghast, and sick with desire, Solley objected, "No, I won't."

"Please. You lost it over a Band-Aid on Jed's wrist."

Solley scrambled upright, adjusting her disheveled clothing, her face hot. She wanted a meteor to fl y out of the heavens and hit her right now. Or she wanted to crawl into the sand dunes and curl up and die. She couldn't bear to look at Gin's half-naked body. Half-naked 'cos I stripped her. I ripped her shirt. There are probably b.u.t.tons on the other side of the bay. And I nearly sucked her t.i.t off.

Solley didn't know what to say. Gin was right. She overreacted to every little thing concerning the kids. And her fears had cost her what she wanted most, to feel like herself again, a desirable, interesting adult woman. She'd spent so long being a mother she'd almost forgotten how it felt to be Solley Rayner. Radiating a humiliation she thought could probably be seen from s.p.a.ce, she felt like crying.

Gin straightened her shirt. "I understand that breaking up a 73 a is rough and you need comfort and rea.s.surance. I can offer that as a friend, but I'm not willing to have s.e.x with you, then be discarded because you got what you needed. Or is this some kind of experiment? You want to fi nd out if you can be with someone other than your partner?"

"No." Solley threw up her hands. "It's not like that at all.

Can't we just admit we're attracted and do something about it?"

"If I slept with every woman who hit on me, I'd have to live in bed."

Solley vented her misery in angry sarcasm. "From what I've heard, I'm surprised I've seen you upright."

"So, now this conversation is about me being a s.l.u.t?"

"Believe me, it's not only conversation."

Gin stood up. "You're the one who jumped on me, Solley.

And if I'd been willing, would this have been a risque holiday fl ing for you?"

"Risque? This is my life, you idiot. If I'd thought, for even one second, that you weren't willing, I wouldn't have touched you with a gator pole, never mind-"

"Tearing my shirt off?" Gin raised her eyebrows. "And for the record, I'm not unwilling. But one of us has to act responsibly."

Waves of shame fl ooded Solley again. "You're right," she said stiffl y. "I don't know what I was thinking. It won't happen again." 'Cos I'll have died from shame by the morning.

An uneasy silence descended, broken only by the muted crashing of waves on the sh.o.r.e. Standing very still, Gin gazed at the skyline, her stomach churning. She wasn't sure which of her emotions was more powerful. Desire? Resentment?

Jealousy? It bothered her intensely that she had to walk away from a world of possibility because of Solley's ex-partner.

a 74 a Filled with mixed emotions, she glanced down at the woman who'd ended her neutral detachment from the world..

Solley sat huddled into herself. She wore so much hurt, Gin felt angry. It was clear that Solley desperately wanted to fi nd happiness and for her family to stay together, and that she'd lost most of her confi dence. I'd love to be your hero but I'm too fractured, too weak.

"You're beautiful, and I wish we'd met under different circ.u.mstances," Gin said quietly. "Dan's a fool, losing you."

The awkward silence sneaked back as Solley digested these last shy words. "Thanks...I think."

"I mean it. I'd walk a mile in Dan's shoes, given half the chance. But it's not my gamble to take. I know that with you the kids always come fi rst, Solley, and I respect you so much for that."

Solley hesitated. Wanting Gin to see her and the kids as separate beings, she steered the conversation away from her role as a mother. "Well, despite all the lumps and b.u.mps, and breaks and...blindness, the kids seem to think you're the best thing ever. Seriously, this may end up being one of their last summers here, but thanks to you, they'll always remember it happily. You've salvaged summer."

Her expression was so full of genuine warmth and affection, Gin almost reached out for her. "No, I think you've salvaged me," she said honestly.

Solley seemed troubled as she gazed up at her. She started to speak, but fell silent. With a small, sad smile Gin wrapped her shirt more closely around her, murmured good-bye, and headed off into the night.

Dismayed, Solley stared out at the inky sea for a while, then trudged indoors. She turned off all the lights and checked the locks before dragging herself dejectedly upstairs. Pa.s.sing a 75 a her sister's bedroom, she heard the muted thud of a headboard against the wall. m.u.f.fl ed moans accompanied the rhythm.

Brilliant, even the physically incapacitated were having s.e.x.

Weren't couples in long-term relationships supposed to lose interest?

Seeing Marsha and Janie so content, and obviously still hot for each other, normally made Solley happy. But tonight all she could feel was a dull envy and a rising anger that she and Dan had allowed their s.e.xual relationship to slip away, just like everything else that had tied them together. Everything except the kids, and it was wrong for children to be little more than ballast weighing their unhappy parents down enough that they stayed together. Would she rather settle for that than make a clean break?

She moved heavily toward the bathroom in a miserable mood. She'd been brave, she'd taken the big plunge, and she'd landed splat on her stupid face.

Looking dispa.s.sionately at that same stupid, freckled face in the bathroom mirror Solley felt like the ugliest, most inept person in the world. She couldn't take any more risks. There would be no b.u.mping into Gin, accidentally or intentionally.

No stealing long looks at her enigmatic, soul-destroying androgyny. Her coal black eyes. Her small, beautiful b.r.e.a.s.t.s with those large rock-hard nipples that fi t so perfectly in Solley's mouth. There would be no more addictive kisses.

She groaned out loud, torturing herself with salacious thoughts that only made her wetter, and hornier, and even more frustrated. Would she ever be able to look at a Havana cigar again and not cream her jeans?

a 76 a Filming halted the next day by midafternoon, as the light began to fade rapidly and a cold front blew in across the bay, promising thunderstorms later.

Gin sat side by side with Marsha on the cliff top location as the crew rushed around, packing up before the bad weather arrived. Leaning back on her elbows, she asked, "Tell me how you and Janie met."

"You were there when we started dating."

"Yeah, but I didn't pay attention until you were a couple, sort of solid and complete, like you'd been with each other for ever. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah." A soft grin covered Marsha's face. "You know, sometimes I have to think really hard about life before Janie.

It's like I was just standing around wasting time, waiting for her. I didn't know I wasn't happy. Didn't know what love was.

I didn't even know I was waiting. And then one day she just arrived and there was no way I was ever going to let her go.

I'm not so stupid I can't recognize love."

Gin gazed out toward the bruised horizon, watching the storm clouds roll in. "Has it been all you hoped?"

"And more. Some mornings I wake up so light and happy I think my heart will pop. I look out the window and bless all my days since fi nding her. Some nights I fall into her so deep I'm scared I'll lose myself and never fi nd my way back."

She paused, loosening the laces on her boots. Today was the fi rst day she'd been able to wear them since the accident. "She expanded my emotional vocabulary."

Gin met her steady gaze with wonder. Marsha wasn't the sentimental type, but she seemed to be reaching for the words to explain her feelings. "I understand. At least I think I do."

"I know." Marsha chuckled. "Pretty weird, huh? I never ever thought I'd be talking like this one day. I didn't think I could feel so much, so deeply. But I'm so much in love it a 77 a scares me, even after all these years. And it's not that I think she might leave me, because she never would. We've barely begun to scratch the surface. It's growing every day."

Marsha tilted her head back, allowing the cool breeze to ruffl e her long, dark curls. "So, other than my relationship history, what's on your mind?"