Angel's Touch (22 page)

“And the ley lines give you your energy back?”

Was Kira changing her mind about the leys? Megan’s eyes widened. “Yes.”

“Isn’t there some way you could avoid the need for that and instead protect yourself from getting drained?”

Megan slumped in disappointment. So Kira wanted to find a way to help her without having to change her own plans. Did she think she hadn’t spent years trying to figure out a better way to do her job, one that wouldn’t leave her so worn out? She ground her teeth. “Distance myself and care less.”

“Which would be impossible for you,” Kira acknowledged. “I mean something like drawing a circle of protection around yourself.”

Megan looked at her blankly. “How do you even know this stuff?”

“I watch movies,” Kira said defensively.

“I’m not a witch. Those rituals are used by Wiccans. Witches,” she explained.

“Maybe they’re on to something. Maybe drawing a circle would help keep you safe.”

This was bizarre, hearing those words come out of Kira’s mouth. “Drawing a circle is actually a way to build up your power and contain it. It doesn’t protect you in the way you mean. And since my client would be in the circle with me, it certainly wouldn’t protect me from the client.”

“But it would give you more power, right?”

“Not
more
power. More control.”

“Sounds useful. Have you tried it?”

“I don’t need to,” Megan retorted. “I’m in control of my power.”

“Are you?”

“Look, I know you’re trying to be helpful, but my skill level is way beyond the crap you see in movies.” Finished with her food, Megan scraped the fish scraps from her plate onto Kira’s and stacked the empty plates together, daring her to stop her. “Besides, I don’t do magic. I communicate with angels and work with them to heal people. It’s completely different.”

“So instead you swim in the ocean.” Kira got up and paced, bouncing on her heels as if she could barely restrain herself from racing around the room. “How often do you do that, anyway?”

“Almost every day,” Megan said.

“Hard to do in winter.”

“If it’s cold I take my shoes off and go wading. Or I dip my hands in. Or I watch the waves. It’s peaceful when there’s no one there.”

Kira paused behind Megan and drew in a breath as if she were about to say something. Something she couldn’t look her in the eye to say.

“If you’re going to feel sorry for me,” Megan said, “don’t.”

Kira exhaled. “Okay. We’ll try it your way.”

Megan swiveled in her seat. Was Kira actually saying…

“I can’t feel the ley lines and I’m not completely convinced they exist, but I am convinced they matter to you. So I’m going to put the spa inside the hotel. I’ll convert most of the ground floor.”

Megan jumped up and threw her arms around Kira’s neck. Her chair crashed to the floor.

Kira laughed, sharing in her elation. “It’ll probably be more cost-effective in the long run, anyway.”

“Thank you!”

Kira gave her a squeeze around her waist, then disentangled herself from her arms and gripped her shoulders instead. She looked steadily into her eyes. “Next time you hug me like that I want it to be because you want me, not because I did what you wanted me to.”

Megan’s stomach did a slow flip. Kira adjusted her hands, changing her grip on her shoulders to a gentle caress. In the space between them, Megan could feel the pressure of Kira’s energy field touching hers, asking to be let in. Often with her clients she had to shield herself because they sucked her life force right out of her with their neediness and their demands and their pain. But Kira wasn’t like that. Her energy was strong and nurturing and vibrant. And exciting. Allowing that energy through would be a high.

Kira shifted her gaze to Megan’s mouth. The magnetic pull was inexorable. Megan’s lips parted.

Kira bent infinitesimally closer.

If she could only come just a bit closer…

Megan couldn’t remember anymore why she was supposed to resist. She raised her face to close the space between them.

“You said no kissing,” Kira murmured, stopping her with the slightest flex of her fingers on her shoulders. “So…no kissing.”

“Did I say that?”

Kira did not look up from Megan’s lips. “Mm hmm.”

“I don’t remember saying that.” It was hard to be sure of much of anything with Kira standing so close, the wonderful scent of her clouding her brain. She knew one thing, though. Where to build Kira’s spa wasn’t their biggest problem anymore.
This
was. And she was about to fix it.

She didn’t believe for one second that Kira meant what she’d said about no kissing, not when the grip that held them apart also kept them firmly inside each other’s personal space. Plus she could feel the woman’s skin heating up with what was obviously desire. You didn’t have to have to be an expert to detect that kind of change in body temperature, nor to sense the emotions smoldering in her aura. So Kira thought she was strong enough to hold her back? Well, there was more than one way to deal with that. Megan snaked her arms up to cup the back of her neck. At her touch, Kira’s grip weakened.

“At Avalanche,” Kira said. “Dancing. That’s when you said it.”

Remembering the dance floor made her want to kiss her even more. One kiss had so not been enough. She pushed her fingers into Kira’s hair. “I had a nice time with you that night.”

Kira let her pull her closer. “It was a mixed bag for me.”

Yeah, because of her. “Sorry about that,” Megan said.

“What was Amelia’s problem, anyway? At Avalanche. She said something about…I don’t remember exactly. She sounded patronizing.”

“You mean when she said I wouldn’t follow her advice?”

“Maybe that was it.”

“Seeing me out dancing must have triggered some of our old arguments. She always wanted us to go out more. She thought I was antisocial.” Megan massaged the back of Kira’s neck, searching for a spot that would make her forget her train of thought. She really did not want to talk about Amelia right now.

“A person can be outgoing without having a bad attitude about it,” Kira said.

“It wasn’t exactly that she had a bad attitude—it was more that partying was such a big thing with her. A huge thing. She said she couldn’t live with someone who hated people as much as I did. I embarrassed her.” Megan couldn’t believe the lump in her throat. At the time, she’d been so focused on Amelia’s good qualities it had been easy to overlook the bad. It was only now, looking back, that she realized how much her criticisms had hurt.

Kira scowled. “You don’t hate people. Why does everyone think extroverts love people, anyway? When I have a great time at a party with a big group of people, it’s not because I love people, it’s because I like the excitement of having a lot going on. If anyone loves people, it’s you. You can spend a whole hour listening to a stranger talk your ear off on your massage table and make them feel cared for. And you’re not just doing your job—you actually do care about them. Even if they’re annoying and they reek of bad perfume.
That’s
loving people. Your ex didn’t know what she was talking about.”

Kira was so sweet. Megan moved both hands to her lower back, to the waistband of her fraying denim shorts, and tried to draw her closer—except Kira kept her at bay by pressing harder against her shoulders. Was she honestly resisting her? There was no reason for that.

“I’m ready to concede a ten-minute massage at a charity event doesn’t count,” Megan said. Just in case that was what was holding her back. She slipped her hands under Kira’s shirt and pressed them against her flat stomach.

“You’re changing your mind? You won’t change it back?” Kira shook her a little by the shoulders to emphasize her point.

Megan was not letting this standoff continue. Not because of her own confused thinking and certainly not because Kira was trying to be polite. She moved her palms upward, sliding them flat between her breasts, then slowly out to the sides, directly into the danger zone. Kira sucked in her breath.

“Stop being so honorable,” Megan mumbled against her neck. The subtle musky, female scent of her skin was intoxicating.

“That will not be a problem.” With a ferociousness she wasn’t expecting, Kira captured her mouth and stepped one leg between hers. Megan half-stumbled from the impact. Kira steadied her, settling her so she straddled her thigh, the whole time never breaking the kiss. Her tongue was in her mouth like it belonged there, insistent and sure.

If this kept up, she was going to pass out.

It kept up for an eternity, and when they finally stopped, Megan was panting.

“I feel dizzy,” Megan said.

“Maybe you need to lie down,” Kira teased. “I think it’ll help.”

“I’ll just bet you do.” Megan was still sucking in air. “I’ll stand.”

“Don’t think there’s anything I can do to you lying down that I can’t do to you standing up,” Kira warned.

“Is that so?” Megan draped her arms around the back of Kira’s neck and caressed her soft puppy fuzz.

Kira kissed her again with a growl that went straight to her ego, and this time when they came up for air, Kira tangled her legs with hers, purposely pulling her off-balance, and helped her stumble into the bedroom.

Kira lowered her onto her bed. “Maybe your blood sugar’s low,” she said solicitously. “I could go make you a snack.”

“Don’t you dare.” Megan trapped her with one leg and licked her jaw. She tasted like salt.

“Feeling better already?”

“Mmm.”

“Maybe I can get you dizzy again.”

“Good idea.”

Kira touched her lips to hers in a gentle kiss that made Megan shiver. “You sure?”

Megan answered by kicking off her sandals and sending them flying across the room. She, for one, did not plan to do any more thinking tonight.

Kira propped herself up on one elbow and reached for Megan’s blouse to undo the top button. Her hand trembled as she touched her fingertips to Megan’s bare skin and moved downward, slowly, into the V of her shirt, parting the fabric until she reached the next button.

Was she nervous? Or did that slight tremble mean something much, much better?

She popped the next button, and lust simmered in her eyes. Megan’s breath quickened as she watched her drop deeper into the V of her blouse. Her bra was definitely showing. And her cleavage.

Okay, so Kira wasn’t afraid to touch her. Good to know. She wondered how many buttons she had left and whether she was going to survive letting Kira do this to her at this languid pace, or whether she was going to break down and yank her blouse over her head.

“Guess you’re not one to rip a woman’s shirt open, are you?”

“And tear the buttons off, you mean?”

Megan nodded.

Kira slowly undid the next button, exposing her lower ribs. “It seems so destructive—ripping a perfectly good shirt.”

“You’re not supposed to worry about the condition of the shirt when you’re caught up in the throes of passion.”

“The
throes
of passion?”

“Are you laughing at me?” There was something going on with the corners of her mouth that looked suspiciously like a laugh trying to escape. Her eyes were twinkling too. “Because I have better things to do with my time than—”

Kira fondled the next button, slipping it halfway out the buttonhole, then pushing it back in. The motion made Megan’s shirt rub against her skin in interesting ways that she was sure never happened when she unbuttoned it herself. Megan pushed her chest forward involuntarily.

“Better things than—”

Gasping kind of ruined the effect of what she was saying.

She sat up and tried again. “Than letting myself be undressed…by…someone who…” Who…what? Who wasn’t going to feel passion? That tremble in Kira’s hand showed more passion than a thousand torn-off buttons.

Kira hooked her fingers under both bra straps and used them to pull her toward her. It was startlingly possessive. Her open shirt started to slide off one shoulder, and Megan did nothing to stop it. With the back of her fingers, Kira caressed underneath her bra straps. It wasn’t nearly far enough. Kira really needed to learn how to read her mind, because if she did, she’d be sliding her hands down those straps right now and slipping under the satin of her bra and touching her where she ached.

“We haven’t gotten to that part yet,” Kira said.

“What?” Megan was having trouble keeping track of the conversation.

“The throes. We haven’t gotten to that part yet.”

“We haven’t?”

“Not yet.” Kira brushed over her tight nipples.

Megan’s body jerked as a fire sparked deep inside her. “You…” She caught her breath as Kira did it again, and again, more deliberately each time. “…liar.” Her blouse and her bra landed on the floor. The rest of her clothes followed. “You said…” Megan stretched, reveling in the feel of Kira’s touch. “You said not yet.”

Kira hovered over her, supporting herself on her forearms. “Is there a problem?”

Megan placed her hand on her thigh and firmly caressed her along the inseam of her denim shorts. Kira tensed, then weakened and parted her legs. Megan did it again, this time lingering where the denim was hottest. Damp, even. She wanted in there. “A problem? Not for me, no.”

She rolled Kira over onto her back and pulled off her shorts, then slid down between her legs and kneaded her inner thighs, working her way up. Kira’s hips lifted, trying to show her what she wanted. Megan stroked the crease of her thighs and pressed harder with her thumbs around her glistening entrance, closer to where Kira wanted her, encouraging her.

Kira shook spasmodically. “I wasn’t done with you.”

“Really.” Megan paused and considered ceding control back to her.

Nah.

She went back to making Kira crazy, circling even closer.

Kira rocked faster, panting, shaking. Sweat sheened between her breasts. “If you say ‘not yet,’ I’m going to kill you.”

Megan wet her lips. “No you won’t.”

She wanted to give in. She was rocking mindlessly with her now, Kira’s excitement and desperation echoing in her own body. If she didn’t give in soon, they were both going to come just from this.