"Her job still worries you," Hazel observed matter-of-factly.

* 49 *

RADCLY fFE Just as honestly, Catherine answered. "Yes. It does. She goes to work every morning to a job where someone might try to kill her. I freely admit, I'm not well-adjusted to it."

Hazel smiled. "You sound a little angry. That's better than depressed, which was how you sounded the last time we talked about it."

Catherine huffed out a breath. "I suppose I'm moving toward acceptance, but I don't think it's ever going to be easy."

"I can't imagine that it ever could be. Are you happy with her?"

"Oh G.o.d, yes," Catherine replied instantly. "I..." She blushed.

"I'm madly in love with her."

"Wonderful."

"We've talked about living together."

"That's news."

"I'm ready," Catherine said. "But I'm not sure that Rebecca is.

Rather, I'm not sure that Rebecca thinks she is."

"She's afraid to disappoint you."

Catherine jerked, startled. "How did you know?"

"A better question is, how did you not know?"

"Oh," Catherine muttered with obvious frustration. "I hate it when we get to this point in these conversations." She took a breath and let it out slowly. "I did know. I do know. I just want her to realize that I'm different from the other women she's been with."

"I imagine she knows that," Hazel said gently. "What she doesn't realize is that she's different with you than she's been with anyone else.

When she can see that, she'll trust herself with you."

"I'm having some sort of territorial reaction, aren't I?" Catherine gave a rueful laugh. "I can't believe I'm jealous of women I've never even met."

"Perfectly natural."

"Relationships certainly do bring our hidden fears rushing to the surface, don't they?"

"Being in love de nitely does." Hazel stood and moved around her desk toward Catherine. When Catherine rose, Hazel put a friendly arm around her shoulders and together they walked toward the door. "You sound like you have a very rm hold on everything that's happening, both with your young police of cer and your new lover. Trust your judgment. I always have."

* 50 *

Justice Served "Thank you. I'm going to trust your judgment on this, because sometimes where Rebecca is concerned, I have no perspective at all."

Catherine returned Hazel's hug and, feeling lighter of heart, left to face the rest of her day, looking forward to her evening with her lover.

v "Come on, honey, get into bed with me."

Sandy folded her arms across her chest and regarded Dell suspiciously from the doorway. "What did you take?"

"Whatever Jason gave me." Mitch.e.l.l pointed to several prescription vials on the bedside table. "He said I was supposed to take them."

"Whatever it was, it made you high."

"Nuh-uh. You do that." Mitch.e.l.l patted the bed beside her and grinned. "If you cuddle up with me, I'll take a nap like I'm supposed to."

"You're going to want to fool around."

"Nah. I won't."

"You're lying, Dell."

"Maybe." Mitch.e.l.l held out her hand. "Come on, honey. Please?"

"Just for a few minutes." Sandy slipped out of her sandals as she walked to the bed and, with practiced ef ciency, shed her top and skirt as well and arrived at the bedside nude. "What?"

"You're so hot." Mitch.e.l.l's voice was hoa.r.s.e, her eyes huge as her gaze drifted down Sandy's gure. "Stand right there."

"What are you doing? You know we can't, not with your leg the way it is."

"Shh. I'm just looking."

"Then how come it feels like you're touching?"

"Must be 'cause I want to so much."

Sandy's hips gave a small involuntary jerk. "Shut up, Dell. There's no way we can do anything."

"Every time I see you, it's like...wow."

"Well, you're done lookin', rookie." Sandy lifted the sheets and slid into bed, pulling the covers to her shoulders. She turned on her side and propped her head in one hand, resting the other on Mitch.e.l.l's abdomen. "Close your eyes and go to sleep."

"How come you covered up?"

* 51 *

RADCLY fFE "You know why. You turn me on bad when you look at me the way you just did."

"Yeah?" Mitch.e.l.l leaned over, nudged the sheet aside with her chin, and kissed Sandy's breast just above her nipple. "So are you now?"

"Uh-huh." Sandy arched her back and drew her tense nipple across Mitch.e.l.l's lips. "Kiss me there."

With a quiet moan, Mitch.e.l.l closed her mouth on Sandy's small breast and sucked. When Sandy's ngers trembled in her hair, holding her head closer, she used her teeth. When Sandy's breathing caught, stuttered to a stop, and then picked up again, rapid and shallow, Mitch.e.l.l teased her ngers up and down the center of Sandy's abdomen, making the muscles jump and twitch.

"You like that?" Mitch.e.l.l beat her tongue back and forth across the tip of Sandy's nipple. "Baby?"

"Yesss." Sandy sted her hand in Mitch.e.l.l's hair and pulled.

"Stop. Dell, stop."

Trembling, Mitch.e.l.l laid her cheek in the hollow between Sandy's b.r.e.a.s.t.s, ghting to contain the wild urge to taste her everywhere. The tips of her ngers rested just at the edge of the silken strands between Sandy's thighs, and she struggled not to slide her ngers lower into the thick wet heat that she knew awaited her. Sandy's heart raced beneath her ear like a frantic rabbit running from a fox. Fearful that she'd gone too far too fast and forced Sandy into a place that wasn't pleasure, but pain, Mitch.e.l.l asked gently, "Did I do something you didn't like?"

Sandy made a strangled sound, half sob, half laugh. "Sometimes...

when you're touching me...it feels so good that I get confused."

"Confused?" Mitch.e.l.l didn't move, didn't change the in ection or tone of her voice. She listened with all her heart, wanting nothing more than to understand what this one woman needed from her.

"When your mouth is on me like that...I can't tell where you are, but I can feel you everywhere inside of me...touching me in places I know you can't be touching me. I feel like I'm going to break, Dell.

And I don't know what will happen if I do."

"I won't let you," Mitch.e.l.l promised fervently. "I'll be right here.

I'll hold you."

Sandy inched down on the bed until her face was even with Mitch.e.l.l's. She looked into Mitch.e.l.l's eyes. "I believe you. I do. But...

* 52 *

Justice Served no one's ever made me feel what you do." She laughed harshly. "G.o.d, I never wanted anyone to make me feel anything when they touched me."

"I love you."

"Even knowing...what I am?"

"What are you, Sandy?" Mitch.e.l.l's lips were almost touching Sandy's. She stroked Sandy's hips very gently with just the tips of her ngers.

"You know, Dell. I trade s.e.x for money."

"When was the last time?"

"You don't want to know these things."

"Yes," Mitch.e.l.l said quietly, but rmly. "I do."

"A week or so ago. A couple of car jobs down on Arch."

Mitch.e.l.l never stopped her gentle caresses. "Before you signed on with Frye as her CI?"

Sandy nodded. "She told me it was part of the deal...that I don't hook."

"And that's the reason you stopped?"

This time, Sandy shook her head in the negative. "It wasn't for Frye."

"Why then?"

"I don't know," Sandy whispered. "After that psycho murdered Anne Marie, I quit everything except the quick stuff. Too much can happen when you're alone in a room with a guy."

Mitch.e.l.l blinked. "That was months ago."

"Yeah."

"Maybe you're done with it?"

"Are you asking?"

"Not yet." Mitch.e.l.l moved her hand from Sandy's hips to her belly and continued her soft caresses. "But I can't think about anyone else touching you."

"Don't think about it. Please." Sandy traced her ngers over the arch of Mitch.e.l.l's cheekbone and down along the angle of her jaw.

She very gently rested her ngers against Mitch.e.l.l's mouth. "No one touches me except you."

"Someday," Mitch.e.l.l whispered, "I'm going to have to ask."

"Dell," Sandy said softly. "I won't lie to you."

"I don't want you to."

* 53 *

RADCLY fFE "Then don't ask about what you don't want to know, okay?"

"For now." Mitch.e.l.l kissed Sandy gently. "Can I look at you some more now?"

Sandy's laugh was shaky. "No s.e.x."

"No promises."

"Dell," Sandy whispered, covering the hand that stroked her abdomen with her own. Looking into Mitch.e.l.l's eyes, she guided Mitch.e.l.l's hand lower between her thighs. "You see?"

"Oh, baby, you are so beautiful." Mitch.e.l.l had a hard time getting air into her lungs, and the fever in her belly burned bright. "You have to let me make you come."

"You think...I'll say...no?" Sandy's hips undulated gently to the sweet, slow rhythm of Mitch.e.l.l's ngers sliding over her ready esh.

Her lids ickered, and her eyes lost focus. With a small cry, she rested her forehead against Dell's, shivering all over. In a voice barely a whisper, she said, "Do it harder, baby."

"Not yet," Mitch.e.l.l choked, ghting not to hurry. "I love the way you feel. I want it to last forever. Don't come yet."

Sandy's hand tightened on Mitch.e.l.l's forearm, her ngers spasming erratically as her hips surged into Mitch.e.l.l's palm. "Can't.

Can't stop."