"Don't you ever get tired of the traveling?" Ally asked, shuddering. "I know I'm about the only person on the planet who'd say this-but I don't envy your job at all. In and out of planes. It's nightmare material."

Morgan laughed. "I do think you're about the only person who hasn't fallen into a jealous swoon over my job. I do love it, even though it's not all glamor and chic hotel rooms like most people think. But sometimes I get jacked with the whole thing- especially all the hours spent in airports and planes-and wish I had a 'normal' nine-to-five job. Probably I'll have a serious rethink of my position when my contract's up in three years. If the show's still going then, of course. If there's one thing certain in television, it's that nothing's ever certain."

Ally glanced up to check the street name on the side of a building at a three-way junction. She hesitated a moment then pointed to the right, to a street even narrower than the last. Morgan hoped Ally knew where she was going. Although, come to think of it, she didn't really care. She couldn't think of a single person she'd rather get lost with.

"I watched your show last Thursday," Ally said a little shyly. "I don't think there's too much chance of a cancellation anytime soon. You're very good at what you do."

"You wouldn't say that if you'd seen me today," Morgan admitted, unaccountably pleased that Ally had seen the show. Given that Ally hardly ever watched television she doubted she had just caught it by accident. "I really sucked. Kept stuffing up my lines, forgetting place names. And I kept calling Gaudi gaudy."

"His work was a bit on the wild side of architectural design." Ally laughed. "Maybe your mouth just kept popping out what your brain was really thinking."

"Maybe." Morgan would have liked nothing better than for her mouth to pop out what her brain was thinking right now. But it would likely send Ally scurrying away in fright. It was almost enough to make Morgan scurry away herself. Because her brain was telling her what her heart-and Mark-already knew. It was telling her there was no point trying to deny it: she was in love with this woman. "But I think it was more because I was distracted by something other than work today."

Morgan knew that Ally knew exactly what she was talking about. She watched for the reaction and waited for her to ask the obvious question: what distracted you?

After Ally had asked it she'd smile knowingly in her direction and say simply, "You."

It would be a gentle eas.e.m.e.nt into intimacy that would hopefully not freak Ally out.

But she was disappointed. It seemed Ally was not ready to take the conversation to a more personal level. She just shrugged and said, "We all get days like that." Then she pointed a little farther down the street, to a building with a brightly painted faade and the words Casa de los Tapas daubed across a varnished wooden shingle hanging from a cast iron bracket. "That's the place. The House of Tapas." She turned to Morgan. "Totally unoriginal name but the food's supposed to be good."

"Who cares about originality? I'm just impressed you managed to find this place at all." Morgan looked around her. "I've got no idea where we are."

Ally put her hands on her hips and set her feet apart. "Then you'd better not say anything to upset me tonight, or I'll leave you here to forever wander the back streets of Barcelona."

G.o.d, the woman was just so d.a.m.ned cute when she was trying to be tough. Especially in that dress and those heels. "I'll consider myself warned." Morgan held back a smile as she headed for the entrance.

"Maybe the place isn't that great after all," Ally whispered a bit dubiously once they were inside. "It's not exactly full."

Morgan shrugged, scanning the premises and pinpointing where she wanted to sit. There was a cozy little table tucked into the far corner. It was pleasantly out of range of the bar and the toilets. And all the other diners-all seven of them-were cl.u.s.tered toward the front. "It's Spain, remember. Only we tourists eat so early. All the locals are still digesting lunch."

Once settled at the tucked-away table, they studied the menu card. Thankfully there was an English translation under the Catalan. Morgan spoke a smattering of Spanish, but her Catalan was nonexistent.

"What grabs your fancy?" she asked.

"I don't know. Everything sounds good. Except for the beef tripe." Ally put the menu card down. "Let's be bad and get one of everything else."

Morgan laughed. There were dozens of choices. "We'll be here all night if we do that."

"I've got all night."

So do I, but I hope not all of it will be spent eating. Morgan's gaze strayed to Ally's lips. Her greatest wish right now was to taste them again. She put her menu card on the table. "I'll let you decide what we have. Just make sure you include some chicken croquettes. They're my favorite."

Ally settled on a selection of ten different dishes and a jug of sangria.

"Oh, my G.o.d," Ally said when the waiter quickly returned with their drink. "I didn't realize the jug would be so big." She tipped it toward Morgan's gla.s.s. "I hope it's good 'cause there's plenty of it."

"There's no rule that says we have to finish it." Morgan touched her gla.s.s to Ally's. "Here's to . . . tapas in Barcelona."

"And to us being together eating tapas in Barcelona."

Morgan's stomach started doing its flippy-floppy thing. She smiled into Ally's eyes. "A happy coincidence."

Ally nodded and took her gla.s.s to her lips. But she put it back on the table before taking a sip. "I left James," she said quickly, as if wanting to get the words out as fast as she could.

Morgan put her own gla.s.s back on the table, her heart leaping at this admission. She wasn't too surprised at the news-Ally had already hinted around the edges of the subject when they talked on the phone on Monday. But since it was only minutes ago she had skated over her attempt to up the gears, she hadn't been expecting this sudden turn in this conversation. "I kind of guessed that was the case when you told me not everyone had been given your new mobile number. Since you'd already said you were trying to get back in contact with me, it didn't take too long to figure who you were talking about."

"I didn't leave him for you. I mean"-the gla.s.s of sangria was lifted but again it never made it to Ally's mouth-"you were part of the reason but not the whole reason. It was something I had to do for myself."

Morgan watched as Ally's gla.s.s finally made it to her lips. In the moment it took for her to take a large swallow she managed to fit in an "I understand." But the rest of what she wanted to say would have to remain unsaid. Ally was obviously not yet finished speaking.

"I just wanted you to know in case it was something that would stop you from . . ." She looked as if she were searching for the correct words.

"The reasons you left James are yours alone," Morgan said gently. "They're not for me to judge." Ally glanced at her sharply, which made her realize she was interrupting again. "Sorry." She made the motion of zipping her lip and throwing away the key.

Ally smiled wanly and took a deep breath. She held it, as if using the moment to organize her thoughts. "I wanted you to know I had left James because I wanted you to know I'm now single. I don't know how you feel about affairs, but I've never had one and I might be old-fashioned but I don't really think they're right. But maybe that's just me being self-righteous because I never actually met anyone who I wanted to have an affair with, so it was easy enough to say I didn't believe in them."

Morgan opened her eyes wide at her understanding at where this rush of words was leading. But she kept quiet. Ally was still not finished.

"But I'm single now and for me that's good. Because right now I'm sitting here knowing that even if I wasn't and you asked me to your hotel room that I'd say yes and then I'd have to eat my words and admit I am the kind to have an affair. But since I am single, now all I have to worry about is that you don't ask me to your hotel room. And I really don't think I could deal with that because I've been thinking about what might happen tonight from the moment you called me. Even though I didn't know exactly what to think because I've never been with-"

Ally stopped as abruptly as she'd started, interrupted by the waiter who'd just arrived with their tapas selection.

They sat in silence while the waiter pulled up another little table hard to theirs and painstakingly organized the ten dishes around the jug of sangria.

Morgan took a long look at the feast, then an even longer look at Ally. "Would you like to stay here and have this, or would you prefer room service?"

Ally also looked at the food before settling her gaze on Morgan. Morgan didn't know which of them received the hungrier stare. "Why don't we ask them to package it up? Then we can have this . . . in our room."

Ally shivered a little as she and Morgan stood together in the elevator. They were on their way to the fifth floor. To her room, in her hotel, at her request. "It's closer," she had said as they finally exited the restaurant, each toting a bag containing five foil-wrapped packages. It actually wasn't closer at all. But if Morgan knew that she didn't argue, instead just smiling and telling Ally to "lead the way." Maybe she'd sensed her need to be in surrounds that were just a little bit familiar while she plunged into otherwise unknown territory.

Or maybe she was just lost.

"Are you cold?" Morgan asked her now, obviously having seen her shiver.

"A little." Ally cast a glance to the digital control panel as she spoke the lie. She was a lot of things right now. But cold was not one of them. Especially not now that Morgan had moved to stand a little closer. Close enough she could feel her body heat. Level four. One more to go. She shivered again as the digital display changed and the elevator ground to a halt on the fifth floor. This time a sudden rush of nerves was the primary cause. "Here we are," she squeaked, stepping out and heading quickly in the direction of her door. Twice the electronic entry system flashed red when she swiped her card. "I'm not very good at this tonight." She felt the heat of embarra.s.sment spread up her neck as she handed the card to Morgan. "You try."

Morgan was much more successful and once inside she slotted the card into the system that activated the electrics. "Nice room," she said as she scanned the s.p.a.ce. "Heaps better than my hotel." She lifted her bag of tapas a little and nodded to the long, low-lying wall unit that housed the mini bar and fridge. "Shall I put this over there?"

"Please." Ally handed Morgan her own bag and then just stood near the door, awkward, knowing she should do something. But what?

Offer the woman a drink, her brain suggested.

"Err . . . can I get you something to drink?"

"Sure."

Ally made a dash for the mini bar and squatted in front of it. She reached inside the fridge and pulled out a bottle of vodka and a bottle of cranberry juice. Both had previously been opened and some of the contents consumed. The vodka she'd bought at the airport in Milan. The cranberry was from the first supermarket she'd found after arriving in Barcelona. Now, she held up both for viewing. "Is this okay?"

Morgan had settled into a half-sitting position on the low-lying unit. She c.o.c.ked her head and smiled. "Have I converted you to my favorite drink?"

Just having something to do with her hands served to calm Ally's nerves a little. She stood and reached for the two tumblers that sat on a tray next to some coffee cups. "Among other things."

Morgan removed herself from the wall unit and took a couple of steps so she stood directly behind Ally. Her hands came to rest on her hips and she bent her head so her breath was in her ear. "What else have I converted you to?"

Ally put the bottle of vodka down and closed her eyes. Morgan's breath was warm and it tickled, sending a fresh wave of shivers through her. And her body against her back felt so good, so soft, fitted so well, just seemed so . . . right. She turned slowly in Morgan's grasp and looked into those piercing gray eyes.

"You," she whispered, feeling a flood of emotion so strong it welled up in the form of tears. "You've converted me to you."

"Oh, Ally." Morgan lifted her hands to her cheeks and wiped gently at the tears with her thumbs. And her lips followed, kissing away any remnants, leaving a moist warmth in their wake. And then, almost without warning, Morgan's mouth was against her own.

Ally whimpered, Morgan's lips more tender, more melting than she remembered. Her mouth opened to the gentle pressure, inviting Morgan's tongue to slide inside and commence an erotic exploration.

Morgan's hands fell from Ally's cheeks to her shoulders, stroking up and down, up and down her arms, causing her skin to erupt into goose b.u.mps and the fine hairs on her forearms to stand on end.

"Are you okay with this?" Morgan asked softly as her hands ceased their stroking and reached for the tie of Ally's halter top.

Ally felt weak at the knees. Her mouth was on fire and every cell of her being tingled. Never before had she been in such a state of arousal, and all it had taken was a kiss and a simple caress. She nodded, standing still, quiet, as the tie was released and the halter top fell away.

"Oh," Morgan breathed, her gaze almost as a touch to Ally's b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "You are even more beautiful than I imagined."

Shyly Ally smiled, accepting the compliment. And she bent her head to witness the first time her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were cupped by a woman's hands. Morgan's hands. It was an image she would never forget. So gently, reverently they were taken. Delicate fingers, long and slender, circled the tissue, traced an imaginary line around her nipples. Already hard with arousal, the almost-touch caused them to ache.

"Please." She pressed her hands against Morgan's, begging for more contact.

And Morgan complied, not only with her fingers, but with her mouth. Ally cried out in the pleasure of it. Of the lips that encased her flesh and the tongue that swirled and the teeth that nipped.

The sensation in her b.r.e.a.s.t.s grew and grew until it was almost too much. As if reading her body perfectly, Morgan withdrew her attentions and rose to Ally's height again. Her eyes were heavy-lidded and her pupils dilated. She took a step away, a step toward the bed. Then she held out her hand.

"Come?"

Wordlessly Ally answered, slipping her sandals off and padding to the bed.

With her heels removed and Morgan still in hers, their height difference was magnified. And with Morgan still fully clothed and Ally with her dress draped around her waist, she felt a sudden return of nerves, of being exposed and vulnerable.

But once again Morgan seemed to read her perfectly. She lifted one ankle and then the other, quickly undoing the straps of her own sandals and tossing them aside. Then she looked down to her dress and back to Ally, quirking an eyebrow.

It was an invitation to remove it. Ally did so, holding her breath as Morgan's skin was slowly exposed and imagining that this, surely, must be what men found so appealing in the act of undoing a woman's zipper. The planes of her back were firm and smooth, with a faint outline of the muscles that lay underneath. Ally swept aside a thick tress of auburn hair and kissed Morgan from nape to almost the base of her spine and back again. Then she turned her around and drew the straps of her dress from her shoulders. It fell around Morgan's feet, leaving her in only a little lacy bra and panties.

An unintelligible sound emerged from Ally's mouth as her eyes opened wide in appreciation of what they saw. Her musings on the train about Morgan having a figure befitting the cover of Sports Ill.u.s.trated had been right on the mark. Put her on the beach in a bikini and she'd cause a riot. "You are a G.o.ddess," she breathed.

Morgan took the step to bring their bodies in contact. "And you are just perfect." Her hands settled gently at Ally's waist, but this time when she bent to her lips it was with a crushing pa.s.sion.

They fell together onto the bed and, somehow, in between all the kisses and caresses and their tangled mess of limbs, their remaining clothes were removed. And somehow, in between more kisses and caresses, they molded into each other's naked bodies, breast against breast, thighs between thighs.

We're a perfect fit, Ally thought in wonder as she closed her eyes, enraptured by the sensation of Morgan's body against her own, the feel of her under her hands. Everywhere she touched was magic. The lines of her back, the curve of her waist, the fabulous swell of her b.u.t.tocks. And . . . oh . . . the feel of Morgan's hands upon her. Upon her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, across her stomach and now, stroking up and down her legs.

Ally shifted, her thighs opening in response to the fingers that were moving ever and ever closer to the spot that was burning for attention. Never before had she felt so ready to be touched. Never before had she needed so badly to be touched. Her hips ground upward, seeking the fingers that kept advancing and retreating, advancing and retreating.

"Morgan . . . please!" she begged as she arched upward again, chasing relief to this exquisite torture.

And finally, finally it came.

"Ally . . ." Morgan's breath was hot, her voice heavy as her lips grazed against her ear. Her body moved in rhythm with her fingers, rising and falling, pressing and grinding. Ally was ardent in her touch, awash with sensation. The swell of feeling grew and grew until she was unable to hold it back. She cried out, clutching at Morgan's back, holding on for dear life as the waves of o.r.g.a.s.m swept through her.

And then, mortifyingly, she just cried.

"Oh, Ally. Baby . . ." Morgan gathered her in her arms and rained light kisses on her eyes, her cheeks and her lips as she rocked her gently. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry." A little later Ally swiped at her eyes, still not quite through her rush of tears. "It's just I was not . . . expecting that."

Morgan's gaze flickered over Ally's face and she smiled. It was not quite confident, but it wasn't exactly a worried smile either. "What were you expecting?"

"I don't know," Ally admitted, turning out of Morgan's arms to lie on her side, her head on the pillow. "I don't have any reference points for this. It's totally . . . different . . . to what I'm used to."

Morgan smiled again, more surely this time. She trailed her index finger down Ally's arm to her wrist, then up her waist, to her ribs. "Different good, or different bad?"

Ally shivered as Morgan's finger found a breast. She glanced down to find her nipple hardening. And she glanced over to Morgan to find her biting on her lower lip, intent on the effect of her touch. "You tell me which one you think it is," she said, her voice breaking with renewed desire.

Morgan shifted her gaze back to Ally, her expression all innocence. "Would you mind if I try again, just so I can be certain?"

Ally reached to brush away a stray strand of hair from Morgan's face. "I don't think I would mind that at all."

Morgan shifted closer, close enough their nipples grazed. She slipped her knee between Ally's willing thighs at the same time she slipped her tongue into Ally's waiting mouth. "Oh . . . dear G.o.d." She groaned as her fingers again found Ally wet and ready. Then, suddenly, her mouth was gone.

Ally reached for Morgan's shoulders. "Don't stop kissing me."

"I'm not going to." Morgan slithered out of Ally's grasp, down her body. And as suddenly as her lips had left Ally's, they returned. But in a much more intimate place. And their attentions left Ally trembling.

Only this time, there were no tears. Instead, as the waves of her second o.r.g.a.s.m had pa.s.sed and Ally again lay in Morgan's arms, a thought pierced through her languid, soporific mind. How did I not know that this was who I was meant to be? She was thirty-three years old. Surely before now she should have had some clue, some inkling. Then, as she looked into eyes that were searching hers, no doubt wondering what she was thinking, Ally knew the reason. Up until now I had never known Morgan.

"What are you thinking?" Morgan asked the question Ally had predicted.

"That I love you," she said simply, unabashedly. And she held Morgan's cheeks in her palms, crushing her mouth against hers, not giving the opportunity for a spoken response. Words were unnecessary anyway, the pa.s.sion of Morgan's kiss and the surge of her body against her own giving her all the response she needed.

Ally allowed her hands to wander where they wished. They ventured farther than before, discovering new curves, new softness. Finally, they found the inside of Morgan's thighs. In vain Ally attempted to replicate Morgan's stroking tease. But she couldn't. She had to discover the secrets within. Her fingers delved into intricate folds and she gave an involuntary groan, overcome by the evidence of Morgan's desire. Her fingers slid easily over and around the little bud she found, first in a process of exploration, then with the intent of giving pleasure.

In rapt fascination she witnessed the changes occurring as a result of her attentions. She felt Morgan building, the slick flesh swelling under her fingers, her body pushing harder against her, her hips grinding upward in an ever-increasing motion. Then Morgan stilled completely and Ally's heart leapt to her throat in the knowledge she was at the point of o.r.g.a.s.m.

The stillness was shattered by a series of frenetic thrusts and an almost animal cry.

Ally rode the storm of Morgan's o.r.g.a.s.m in wide-eyed awe. When it was all over and Morgan lay still except for the p.r.o.nounced rise and fall of her chest, she climbed on top of her, straddling her thighs. She gazed down to the woman below, her heart fit to burst at her beauty, both inside and out.

Morgan raised a slow hand to cup Ally's cheek. "You do know that I love you too."

Ally didn't know why, but never before had she ever been so certain of the truth in another's words. She grinned impishly, newly confident in her success. "You're just saying that 'cause I'm good in bed."

Morgan's eyes twinkled with laughter as she grabbed Ally by the wrists and pulled her down on top of her. "Come here then and prove it."