All That Lies Within (35 page)

Dara rubbed gentle circles on Rebecca’s swollen clit, rejoicing as she shuddered at the contact. Then she slid down, lifted Rebecca’s hips, and ran her tongue through velvety folds, sampling the sweetness within.

“Oh, my God. Dara, please don’t stop.”

“Never.” Dara tried to remember ever feeling more alive than she did at that moment. Rebecca levitated off the floor. Her back arched as she pushed her hips forward, seeking deeper contact. She came, calling Dara’s name, the sound echoing off the glass doors.

After the last shudder, Rebecca grabbed for her with a fierceness that rocked Dara and nearly made her come again. For long moments, they held each other tightly, breathing heavily, sated and sure of the only thing that mattered right now—they both were loved.

Rebecca propped herself up on an elbow to watch Dara as she slept. They made it to the bed in time for several more rounds of lovemaking and, exhausted, fell asleep in a tangle of arms and legs and soft sheets.

Now it was almost three o’clock, Dara had to be on set by five, and they still hadn’t gone over the pages for today. Dara looked like an angel with her hair splayed across the pillow, and Rebecca couldn’t bring herself to wake her.

So she slipped out of the bed and tiptoed out into the living room to find her clothes. They were strewn haphazardly near the doors to the deck, tangled together with Dara’s tank top and bra.

Rebecca caught her reflection in the glass of the doors. Her hair was tousled and she looked as relaxed and sated as she felt. Could this be real? It certainly felt like it was. Multiple times during the night Dara had told her she loved her. Was that only about lust?

Well, it’s certainly about a lot more than that for me.
Rebecca had had her share of lovers over the years. Making love with them felt nothing like what happened between her and Dara last night. There was a balletic sensuality and an emotional richness to their lovemaking that pushed the experience far beyond lust. The night wasn’t about having sex, as often was the case with first-time lovers, even if the relationships lasted well past that initial night. No, there was something far deeper at work here.

Or maybe we were just healing each other from past wounds.
But Rebecca didn’t think so.

She jumped and then relaxed as long arms wrapped around her from behind and soft lips kissed the juncture between her neck and shoulder.

“I didn’t want to wake you.”

“I missed you.” Dara’s body was warm from the bed and her nipples tightened against Rebecca’s back.

Rebecca turned in the circle of Dara’s arms and kissed her full on the mouth, reveling in the taste of her.

“You know we’re going to have to make love again if you keep that up, right?”

“Mmm.” Rebecca reluctantly relinquished Dara’s mouth and instead ran her fingertips over her lips, her cheekbones, and her jaw line. “I want to tell you how beautiful you are, but I’m afraid you’ll misconstrue my meaning.”

Dara’s eyes crinkled as she smiled and she shook her head. “Not coming from you. From you, it’s heartfelt. I can see that in your eyes, and I can feel it here.” Dara put a hand on Rebecca’s heart.

“Yes, it is.” Rebecca tucked a strand of hair behind Dara’s ear. “I love you, Dara. I know I said it while we were making love, but I want you to know that I didn’t just say that in the heat of the moment. I truly feel it and mean it from the bottom of my heart. Maybe it’s too soon and you’re not ready—”

Dara’s mouth covered hers in a kiss that nearly stopped Rebecca’s heart. Dara pulled back and gazed deep into Rebecca’s eyes. “I love you, Rebecca. It’s not too soon. It’s about time. I feel like I’ve been waiting for you my entire life.”

“I know I have.” Rebecca felt the tears welling in her eyes and willed them not to spill over.

Dara caught one on her fingertip. “Why are you crying?”

“If anyone had ever told me I’d grow up to be loved by the most remarkable woman in the universe, I never would have believed it.”

“You deserve every good thing. Why wouldn’t you think you’d have it?”

“Do you remember at dinner the other night when Carolyn asked me why I wanted to become a professor? I said I had a hard time as a kid. That was a bit of an understatement. At school, I spent most of my time being pushed into walls, having my books knocked out of my hands, or cleaning graffiti off my locker.”

“Oh, honey.”

Rebecca held up a hand. “It’s okay.”

“No. It’s not.”

“You’re right, it’s not. What I mean to say is—that was a long time ago. Going to school frightened me. Every day brought more emotional and verbal abuse. There were days when I didn’t think I wanted to go on anymore.”

Dara gasped and pulled Rebecca closer, resting her head on her shoulder. “I’m so glad you chose to stay.”

Rebecca swallowed hard. “Me too.”

“Where were your parents in all this?”

“My dad died in a small plane crash when I was five. My mother’s way of grieving was to lose herself in a bottle of booze.”

“You were on your own all those years?”

“More or less. Yes.”

“Oh, God. I’m sorry.” Dara’s voice caught on a sob. “I know exactly what that feels like.”

“You do?”

“Mm-hmm. My parents had me late in life and let’s just say they weren’t too happy to have me around. I was meant to be seen and not heard.”

Dara tensed in Rebecca’s arms and Rebecca rubbed circles on her back. “I’m sorry.” She knew there must be more to the story, but she didn’t get the sense that Dara was ready to talk about it.
Tread carefully.
She thought about the story she’d read in the gossip rag at the airport terminal. “Your mom died pretty recently, right?”

“She did. I was her only child and my father already was dead, so it fell to me to be there. That’s why I was in New York and why I was available to do the Letterman show.”

“So, what you’re saying is, I was a gift from your mother.”

Dara straightened up. “What?”

“Your mother drew you to New York, otherwise you never would have come, right?”

“True.”

“And if you hadn’t come, you wouldn’t have been on Letterman when I was in the audience.”

“True.”

“And if none of that had happened, I wouldn’t have known who you were. Well, not the Constance part, anyway.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And you wouldn’t have lobbied for the part on national television. Not that you wouldn’t have gotten the part anyway, but who knows? Maybe if you didn’t do that, the movie wouldn’t have gotten made and I wouldn’t be here now, standing in your arms, the only place I ever want to be from this moment to the end of time.”

“Huh. Neatly done, Professor.”

“In summary, then, your mother did you one last positive turn. Maybe bringing us together was her way of making amends for the way she treated you when she was alive. At least, that’s how Celeste would look at it.”

Dara seemed distracted for a moment, looking over Rebecca’s shoulder.

Rebecca turned her head to look. “Something out there I should see?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Just the ghost of my mother agreeing with you.” She winked.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “Why is it I believe you?”

Dara kissed her lightly. “Another story for another day. Right now,” she took Rebecca’s hand, “we have about half an hour to run lines and get me ready for today.”

“You know I need to get dropped back at the condo so that I can shower and change clothes before you go to the set, right? Or I could take a cab there after you go to the set, since I don’t have to be there until eight thirty this morning. I’ll be okay to get to the studio on my own once I get to the condo. Apparently, I finally have my own car. I’m told it’s in my driveway.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got it all covered”—she stopped and pulled Rebecca in tight so that almost every part of them was touching— “except for you. Right now, all I want to do is cover you with my body.”

Rebecca felt the stirrings deep in her belly.
Every day for the rest of our lives, if I have anything to say about it.
           

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Rebecca, this the fourth time you’ve asked me since we boarded the plane. We’re cruising at 33,000 feet, halfway across the country. Don’t you think it’s a little late for me to rethink whether or not I want to come to Vermont with you?” All Dara wanted to do was to reach over and smooth the worry lines away from Rebecca’s forehead. “I’m the one who had to talk you into letting me come along to pack up your things, remember?”

“I do, but you were in a weakened state at the time.”

Rebecca smiled warmly and Dara knew exactly what she was thinking about. Following an early morning run on the beach, they’d just finished making love in the shower, when Rebecca reminded her that she would be heading to Middlebury on Friday to get the clothes and other items she would need for the three-month shoot.

Dara corralled her in the corner of the shower, boxing her in with her arms. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

“It’s only two nights.”

“I don’t care if it’s two minutes. No can do.” Since their first night of lovemaking, they hadn’t spent a night apart all week.

“I need my clothes.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

“What? You’re crazy. The weekend is your only time off. I’ll be back Sunday night.”

“Not happening.”

“You’re not being reasonable.”

“And you’re not going anywhere without me.” Dara had kissed her hard, setting off another round of lovemaking before they finally got clean and out of the shower.

Dara turned to stare out the window at the inky darkness. If she kept looking at Rebecca, she’d want to kiss her right here. She could just imagine the tabloid furor over that. Instead, she curled up with her head on the airplane pillow and closed her eyes.

“Hey. Hey, we’re about to land.” Dara was dimly aware of Rebecca shaking her. “Sleepy head. Time to get up.”

“What?” She cracked an eye open. “We’re here already?”

“Already? You’ve been asleep for hours.”

Dara straightened up and put her seat back up. “It’s a red-eye. You’re supposed to sleep. What were you doing while I was doing the sensible thing?”

“I was script-doctoring. I figured it would be a good time to get ahead of next week’s schedule.”

“You did, did you?” Dara reached for Rebecca’s laptop. “Are you going to let me see the pages?”

“Ah, ah.” Rebecca playfully held the laptop out of reach. “All electronic devices must be turned off and stowed.”

Dara loved that Rebecca couldn’t stop staring at her lips as she pouted. She felt the first twinges of arousal and crossed her legs. How was it possible that she still couldn’t get enough of Rebecca? They’d made love more times in a week than Dara had in a lifetime. With each successive round of lovemaking, Dara felt the pain of past betrayals fade into nothingness. In those precious moments of physical connection with Rebecca, she found emotional healing…a solace and a freedom she’d never known. Until now.

Dara thought about what her mother said about opening her heart to love.
I hope you’re enjoying this, Mother.
And she knew her mother was. Not only had Dara seen her over Rebecca’s shoulder the night she and Rebecca made love for the first time, she’d seen her two times in dreams since.

The re-emergence of her mediumship abilities was profoundly uncomfortable. How critical was it for her to share that piece of herself with Rebecca? Dara felt a wave of nausea at the mere thought of telling her. What would Rebecca make of her psychic gifts? What if it sent her running for the hills? Dara swallowed hard. She didn’t have to tell her. At least not yet.

She poked Rebecca. “What’s your friend’s name again? The one who’s picking us up?”

“Natalie. She’s a history professor with a specialty in the Nixon years.”

“And what does she know about us?”

“She knows that I’m working on the movie and she’s a fan of your movies. She also knows all about my correspondence with Constance and that I was completely crushed out on the author.”

Dara grinned. “Oh, you told her that, did you?”

“I didn’t have to tell her. It was written all over my face.”