Running Off Radar, page 4
Rose found her a few minutes later, patting her face dry of the cool water. Maji met her worried gaze in the mirror.
“Are you all right?”
Maji wasn’t sure what the correct answer to that was. No? Nearly? Better with you in a few hours than I have been in years? “Depends. Is my plate still safe from Al’s big heart?”
Rose wrapped her arms around Maji’s waist from behind and swayed her gently, their reflections smiling. “It’s ready for your big appetite. If you still have one.”
Maji nearly joked again in response. But no. Rose deserved whatever honesty she could manage. “Rose…I’m not used to this.”
“Being cared for?” As always, the warmth in Rose’s eyes held a twinkle even when she looked serious.
“Being taken care of. I’m not good at it.”
Rose brightened again. “I know. But turnabout is fair play, and even superheroes need a little TLC sometimes.” She kissed the back of Maji’s head and took her hand, pulling her toward the door. “Come on. Your herring eggs may be in danger—Al can only be held off for so long.”
* * *
Rose slipped her arm through Maji’s as they walked back to the hotel, and Maji let herself bask in the at ease feeling of their being together, in public, with no worries. Just like two normal people in love. They talked lightly about the dances and the food, and how the sky was still light after eight p.m. in April. The small wonders and simple pleasures of travel to a new and interesting place just for fun. Standing in front of St. Michael’s Cathedral, Maji intoned a few words in solemn-sounding Russian.
“Is that a prayer?”
Maji smiled. “No. It translates to, The church is near but the road is icy; the tavern is far, but I will walk carefully.”
“You are such a smart-ass.” The fondness in Rose’s voice was as good as a laugh from anyone else. Better.
“Hey, I didn’t make it up. It’s a well-known proverb.”
“But of all the Russian proverbs you know, that’s the one you picked.” Rose moved to face her. “And watch it with the languages, or we might have to skip that talk tonight.”
Maji felt herself flush at the memory of the last time she’d spoken multiple languages to Rose, to give herself the freedom to say things she couldn’t speak otherwise. They’d slept little that night. “English-only rules are discriminatory.”
Rose’s eyes twinkled. “So sue me.”
“What’s the deal with Javi?” Maji asked, deliberately switching gears as the Spanish- and Quechua-speaking interpreter came to mind. “Has he ever acted stalkery before?”
Rose’s eyes widened in surprise. “Stalkery? No. He’s very much the modern Latino male feminist. Friendly, sort of casually intimate, but not…weird like that.”
“Good. Still, I want you to call Hannah tonight and give her all the information you can on him.”
Rose looked skeptical. “I hardly think—wait, you promised not to boss me around. We’re not going back there. Ever.”
“Agreed. I’m just reminding you that you promised Hannah.” Angelo had asked Hannah to watch out for Rose after he was gone, until they were sure none of the angry Italian, Russian, or other organized crime groups were looking for payback.
Rose blew out a frustrated puff of air, riffling the glossy black curls on her forehead. “Fine. I’ll call her right now.” She dug in her purse for her phone and sat on the cathedral steps while the direct line to the head of Paragon Security rang. “Oh, Hannah, I’m sorry. What time is it there?…Yes, she’s here. And she insisted I call you about an old friend who’s in town also. I’m sure it’s nothing, but—”
Maji paced the sidewalk while Rose spoke with her godmother. Then Rose passed her the phone. “Just bruises and scrapes,” she responded to Hannah’s predictable questions. Before she hung up Maji added, “Tell Bubbles I made it, okay? And…that she’s right.”
Stowing her phone again, Rose asked, “What’s Bubbles right about?”
Maji gave Rose a hand up off the steps. “That I’m an idiot. Every time you went out with somebody, she reminded me.”
“Brat,” Rose responded, looking a bit pleased. Didn’t matter which of them she meant. “If you really want a talk tonight, you’d better do it before we reach that posh suite with the lovely king-size bed.” She took Maji’s hand again and pointed them toward the hotel, now in sight just two blocks away. “And it’s too chilly out here to linger, so speak now or hold your peace.”
Maji gathered her thoughts. She’d practiced in her head nearly every time she was awake in transit from the mission debriefing to Sea-Tac. And still, here at go time the words got stuck. “English only?”
“Oui.”
“Fair enough.” Maji paused, taking a long inhale. “So, I still think I was right. You had to call me Ri tonight. Who I am, what I do…it follows me. And it isn’t fair to ask you to just put up with it. But…” She almost said, I love you, so—. “As Bubbles keeps pointing out, you should be the one to decide that, not me.”
“Are you really worried that I’ll decide you’re not worth it?” Rose stopped and looked Maji in the eye. “You couldn’t stop me from falling in love with you. And breaking up with me, no matter how noble your intentions, didn’t work either. Maybe you should try being happy and see how that goes.”
Maji put her hands on Rose’s upper arms, to maintain the small distance she longed to close. “You have a week to figure out that I’m not worth the grief. After that you might not get rid of me. Seriously.”
Rose pulled her close and a few minutes later the throaty rev of a truck engine and a hollered, “Get a room!” brought Maji back to the reality of the night sky beginning to mist on them as they kissed on the sidewalk. Fortunately they had a room.
* * *
As they entered the lobby, Rose spotted a familiar-looking woman exiting the elevator and heading toward them. The pretty features, dirty-blond ponytail, and jeans didn’t add up to any of her academic acquaintances on downtime, though.
Then the woman spotted them and her face lit up as she approached. “Sergeant! What a lovely surprise.”
“Um, Tina, right?” Maji asked. At the woman’s nod, she added, “This is Rose.”
Rose extended her hand. “Hi.” Recognition dawned. “Oh, from the plane. Nice to meet you.”
Tina’s smile dimmed. “Yes. Well I’ve got to run before the sushi bar closes with my order inside. Then it’s off to bed so I can be up at four. But…I’ll be overnighting in Sitka again in a couple days. If you two would like to get together, maybe have a drink or something? I believe our soldier girl has my number.”
Rose felt her hackles rise at the way Tina seemed to be including her in an inside joke. One that featured Maji as their common link.
“I do?” Maji asked. She didn’t seem to be in on the joke either.
“You do,” Rose said. “It fell out of your pocket when I picked your jeans up.” Remembering the kiss imprint on the napkin with the phone number and flight attendant’s name on it, she scanned Tina’s now makeup-free face. “Nice shade of lipstick.”
The hint of reproach in Rose’s voice didn’t seem to faze Tina at all. “Thank you. I think we may have similar tastes in many things. I’d love to find out, if you’re interested.”
Again with that mix of competition and collaboration, Rose noted. Are you asking what I think you’re asking?
“Ah. No.” Maji stepped in, as casual as if they were old friends scheduling a coffee date. “Rose isn’t big on sharing. I got the impression Jack’s not ready either.” At Tina’s wince, she added, “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. Are you really okay?”
“No. But I will be. And Jack, well.” She shrugged, the playfulness replaced by an edge of vulnerability. “But what he wants doesn’t matter one way or another anymore. And if you were listening, you’ll recall I’m just looking for a little fun, at least until the papers clear.” She started to move past them, then turned partway and added, “So should you two change your minds, I can promise you that much. No complications.”
They stood silently until the sliding glass doors of the lobby slid shut behind Tina. Rose felt vaguely sorry for the woman. “That was weird,” Rose said. She meant both Tina’s game playing and Maji’s ability to turn the odd conversation into something real, despite the weirdness.
Maji just gave her signature half shrug and headed for the elevators.
“Does that happen to you a lot?” Rose asked. “Strange women hitting on you, giving you their numbers?”
Maji didn’t answer until their elevator arrived. “It happens once in a while. Probably not as much as it does to you.”
“Me? No. I mean, I get asked out but…well, never mind.”
Maji stepped into the elevator and pressed five. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not interested. Rose, I haven’t had a date, or a hookup, or anything, since you. I just haven’t wanted to.”
Rose took her hand. “You haven’t missed anything. Nobody I said yes to inspired me to make a second date. I think you ruined me.”
“Sorry.” Maji looked serious. “For hurting you, not for making you pickier. I’ll take any advantage over your hordes of admirers that I can get.”
They stepped off, and Maji quickly scanned the hall, then tested the door before keying it. Always on duty. Maji held the door for her, but Rose paused, rather than passing through to their private space. “Wait. How do you know I don’t share?” She tried for a hint of indignation but didn’t think she was fooling anyone.
A smile quirked at one side of Maji’s luscious lips. “Wishful thinking. Or maybe I was just projecting.”
“Good. We’re on the same page then.” Rose pulled Maji through the door behind her, then pressed her up against it when it closed behind them.
* * *
Maji absorbed the feeling of Rose pressing against the length of her, kissing her like their connection was oxygen itself. And for the first time in months she felt whole. She ran her fingers through Rose’s hair and down her back, drawing her closer, reveling in the certainty that Rose wanted her. As always when they touched, the rest of the world faded back, replaced by the scent, the sound, the taste of Rose. Oh God, the taste of her…
Rose broke their kiss, gasping. “Maji. How do you do that to me?”
“How do I?” Maji couldn’t rein in her grin as Rose levered herself off the thigh that had insinuated itself between her legs. “I can’t even control myself.”
They both straightened up as Rose held her gaze. Her olive skin was flushed, her eyes soft but intense. “Does that scare you, black belt?”
“It should.” Absolute mental and physical control saved her life, made it possible to save others. Maji trained hard to stay sharp and solid. And Rose could make the whole world shift under her feet with just a kiss.
“But?”
Maji struggled for the words to explain. Rose was so close, she wanted to answer with her body, to make her feel the answer through her skin. “Rose,” she breathed.
“Yes?” Rose grasped her hands and stepped back. “What is it, love?”
Maji sucked in a deep, calming breath. “Love. It’s love.” The slow smile blossoming on Rose’s face gave her the courage to go on as she gently walked her backward toward the big, cushy bed. “I thought I could get over it, when you left. And I’m sorry about—”
“Shh. No. No more sorry.” Rose held her at arm’s length as they reached the bed, still fully clothed. “Go on. After I left…”
“Nothing I did felt right. It was like I had a hole—” Her fist pressed to her sternum of its own accord, trying to rub away the bleakness. When Rose covered it with her hand, Maji rolled her eyes in embarrassment. “I know how sappy that sounds.”
“All you had to do was call. Why didn’t you?”
Maji forced herself to meet Rose’s questioning gaze. “I didn’t deserve to. And I knew you were better off without me.”
“God, you are an idiot.” Rose withdrew her hand. “Then why are you here?”
“You gave me another chance.” Maji blinked back hot tears. “How could I say no to you again?”
Rose pulled them back onto the bed, kissing Maji hard before flipping her onto her back. Straddling Maji’s hips, her hands pressing Maji’s into the bedspread, Rose glared down at her. “You were scared and you ran away from me. I don’t know where we’re going, but I have to know that if we try you will not do that to me again. Do you understand?”
Maji nodded, pinned by the fierceness in Rose’s voice and eyes. She felt her pulse pounding in her neck and at the spot where their hips met.
Rose leaned in close, her pelvis grinding into Maji’s crotch as their nipples grazed each other’s, their mouths inches apart. “Use your words.”
“Yes.”
“Yes what?”
The question eluded her, but Maji was sure of the answer. “I love you. Yes.” She arched up to close the distance between them.
Rose released her hold and began stripping Maji’s top off. Equally invested in shedding every stitch of fabric that stood between them and complete skin-to-skin contact, Maji shed her pants and went to work on Rose’s outfit.
As she slipped Rose’s slacks past her ankles, Maji slid off the bed and stood back to drink in the sight of her. Rose’s body was resplendent with curves, soft and rounded in almost all the places Maji was stripped down to bone and muscle. Under the softness was strength, and over it, warm silk. Maji wanted to feel that silk with her lips, her cheeks, her palms and fingertips. To memorize every dip and rise, to know exactly what evoked which of Rose’s reactions.
Maji’s exploration began surely, starting at Rose’s bare feet and working her way north. Paying close attention to Rose’s responses was easy until the moment when Rose could reach Maji’s scalp, her neck, her shoulders. Then Maji felt her focus blur, split between the feel of Rose herself and the sensation of Rose touching her. She gently pulled Rose’s hands away, safely off her humming skin and toward the quilt. “I do want your hands on me, but could you wait just a little? I’m trying to…”
“What? Trying to what?” Rose sat up as Maji gathered her wits.
“To learn you.” Maji kissed Rose’s fingertips. “I want to know everything you like, and how to give it to you.”
“There’s time now,” Rose assured her. “And still room for surprises.”
Rose flipped Maji onto her back again, chuckling as she straddled Maji’s hips. “Lesson one—don’t leave my hands free if you don’t want me to use them.” She pressed her palms into the bed, leaning forward until her breasts brushed Maji’s cheeks. “Two—take your time here. With both hands and mouth. Vary light and teasing with…”
Maji didn’t wait for further instruction.
“Yes,” Rose breathed, her arms busy keeping herself suspended in reach of Maji’s mouth and hands. “Like that. And—oh, that too. And…um…”
Rose’s hips circled near Maji’s thigh, the slick heat of the brief contact making them both moan. Sensing a request, Maji slid one hand down to Rose’s silky curls and cupped her firmly. “Here?”
In response, Rose pushed against Maji’s hand and kissed her hard. Maji struggled against the urge to plunge inside, rubbing the base of her palm against Rose’s clit instead. Rose broke the kiss with a moan, arching back. “Stop teasing. Fill me now.”
The sight and sound of Rose’s raw need pulled every fiber of Maji tight. She kept her eyes on Rose’s face as she slipped in deep, keeping pace with her as Rose rode her hand. Witnessing Rose’s pleasure took Maji to the brink of release, and she struggled to hold herself back. “Yes,” she encouraged Rose. “Yes, baby. All yours.”
Rose let go with a long cry, dragging Maji over the brink with her. She dropped her full weight onto Maji and they rolled onto their sides, entangled and clinging to each other.
“Yes,” Rose echoed, her breath hot against Maji’s neck. “Yes.”
Chapter Four
Rose woke to Alaska-centric news coming from the radio by the bed. The station identified itself as KCAW, Raven Radio, which normally she would have found endearing. But she heard Maji, who had always been up before her, groan and mumble, covering her head with a pillow. So off it went. Rose slid out from under the covers before the desire to stay and cuddle could override her sensible side. People to meet. Speakers to hear. Shower.
Thirty minutes later, Rose congratulated herself on making the right decision as she headed for the conference center by the water. The four block walk gave her just enough time to reflect on the night, before putting on her professional face. Although they had shared a house and been together by necessity nearly twenty-four seven last summer, this was only the third night that she and Maji had put one another to sleep. The first time, Rose had invited Maji home after Maji had stepped between her and armed kidnappers. Rose had thought then that perhaps it was the sense of danger, bringing a stranger home for the first time ever, that made every touch so exciting. But then six weeks of enforced no-touching in close proximity, while they pretended Maji was Angelo’s girlfriend, had wound them both up beyond all restraint. Rose barely recognized herself, unleashed and nearly unhinged with desire, the one night they spent locked alone together. With anyone but Maji, it would have been frightening. But no one had ever made her feel both so wild and so utterly safe at the same time.
And the sex they’d shared after Angelo’s funeral—grief sex—felt like a whole other type of need being met. As if only the intensity of their passion could burn away the loss temporarily. Rose had found herself sobbing in cathartic release, held close within Maji’s arms.
Last night she had cried too, though less dramatically. Surely tears wouldn’t always ambush her like that. Rose had laughed in bed with a lover before, but the crying was new. If Maji hadn’t been so tender, almost reverent, maybe she would have laughed instead. Whenever they touched, Maji acted as if Rose was the only person in the world. But this time, for the first time, Maji held her gaze and said I love you in plain English and with no hesitation or hint of retreat. And Rose felt the tears wash all the frustration of the past months away.
