It Should Be a Crime (2 page)

*

Morgan fought the urge to bolt. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a one-night stand. Over a decade ago, at least. She knew Parker was acting on the undercurrent of her request to take her somewhere besides the bar, but Morgan was still reeling from having witnessed the tragic final act of her ten-year farce of a relationship. She should leave now before she further complicated the evening with her own antics.

As if she could sense Morgan’s instinct to flee, Parker held her in place. Morgan slid her hands along Parker’s arms, savoring the feel of her muscled limbs. She started to coax the strong arms around her, but stopped short. She didn’t want to be held. She didn’t want to be taken. She had lost enough control tonight.

Morgan stood and placed her hand on Parker’s shoulder, signaling her to stay in place. She kicked off her sandals and balanced herself squarely so Parker’s face was centered near her chest. With one arm, she pulled her skimpy top over her head, then deftly unhooked the clasp of her silk bra. Parker reached up to help her remove the barrier, but Morgan pushed her hands away. She flung the lacy undergarment down and then rubbed her swollen breasts while she watched Parker squirm. Morgan pinched her left nipple and rolled it between her fingers. Parker licked her lips. Morgan wasn’t sure if she was making herself wet or if the desire in Parker’s eyes was the catalyst of her arousal. Whatever the cause, she was soaking and she wanted to be touched. She motioned for Parker’s hand. Parker ran her palm up the bare skin of Morgan’s stomach, inching toward her aching breasts. Morgan marveled at the dual effect of her touch, both soothing and stimulating. She swooned, almost forgetting her intentions, but she reclaimed her focus and smacked Parker’s hand as it grazed her ready nipple. “No, I want you inside me. Now.”

“Let me take you to bed.” Parker’s voice was low and full of promise. “I want to feel your skin. I want to feel you against me while I make you come.”

“I’ll come all right, but this way.” Morgan surprised herself with the forcefulness of her declaration. She shook off her hesitation and settled into the dominant role, guiding Parker’s hand to the zipper of her jeans. “Inside. Now.”

Parker complied, but not without testing Morgan’s resolve. She took her time unzipping Morgan’s jeans and when she finally slid her hand inside, she kept the barrier of Morgan’s silk panties between her probing fingers and Morgan’s wet center. Morgan ground against Parker’s seeking fingers, slowly at first, then thrusting with mounting speed against the increasing pressure of Parker’s insistent touch. The soft silken motion was a nice prelude, but she quickly craved the electric charge only skin on skin could provide. No longer able to stand the boundary between her aching clit and the feel of Parker’s probing fingers, she reached down and firmly grasped Parker’s hand. Force wasn’t necessary. Parker’s need to be where Morgan wanted her was evident by the urgency with which she slid her hand inside Morgan’s panties to find her slick and ready. Morgan groaned as Parker traced a path on either side of her quivering lips. As Parker spread her open, she summoned what was left of her self-control and reached down to grasp Parker’s hand once again.

“Not yet.” She held Parker’s hand still and met her eyes, now black with intensity. “Take off your clothes.” Parker hesitated, almost as if she didn’t register what Morgan asked. Morgan lowered her hand to Parker’s waist and roughly tugged open a button of her 501s to accent each word. “Take. Off. Your. Clothes.” Parker slowly removed her hand from Morgan’s jeans and flashed a grin in response to Morgan’s low moan. She stood and leaned so close Morgan could feel her breath, warm and sweet. She sucked in her own as she watched Parker raise her arms and peel her shirt away to reveal firm breasts, nipples erect and begging to be touched. Morgan drew a hard nipple into her mouth and rolled her tongue around it with increasing pressure, taking pleasure in the way Parker’s strong body sagged against her as if melting at the touch. She nipped hard, then leaned back and gazed into Parker’s glassy eyes. “You were talking earlier about wanting to feel some skin?”

Parker took the cue, shoving her jeans down and kicking them away. Morgan smiled at the sight of tight gray boy briefs. “Mmm, these are nice, and you certainly look hot in them.” She ran a finger inside the waist band, dipping low to trace the curled hairs beneath. “But they’re not skin. Lose ’em.”

Parker obeyed, but she took her time, sliding the briefs slowly down and then dangling them in Morgan’s face before tossing them over her shoulder. Morgan’s breath caught at the sight of Parker’s tightly muscled body. She was gorgeous. She stood proud and confident, as if standing around naked in front of other women was something she did every day.
Maybe she does.
For a brief moment, Morgan felt her own confidence ebb, but acted quickly to block its retreat. She slid her arms over Parker’s lean hips, pulled her close, and leaned back hard. As they crushed into the cushions of the love seat, Morgan moaned with pleasure at the feel of the welcome weight.

“So, is this what you had in mind?” Parker’s smile was irresistible. Morgan answered by kissing the corners of her mouth, then teasing her lips with light strokes of her tongue. Parker matched her movements and their dance quickly dissolved into deep, probing kisses that Morgan felt to her core. “I need to come now.” The awareness that drove her to deliver the command faded into the haze of desire. Until she felt the cool air in the room skim the heat between her legs she didn’t realize she was fully nude. Within moments, Parker’s fingers brought her back to awareness. Morgan matched her touch for touch, unable to resist the excitement of their combined pleasure. As she writhed beneath Parker’s well-toned body, she found her control in the pure physical pleasure she felt as they came together with the unbridled intimacy only strangers who never plan to meet again allow themselves to feel.

*

Morgan woke to the realization she wasn’t alone and she wasn’t at home. She sighed as the events of the night before came flooding back and she realized she probably didn’t have a home anymore. She rolled out of bed, determined to spend the day figuring out if she had a place to live.

She tiptoed around the room gathering clothes, doing her best to see by the shades of early morning light peaking through the blinds. The desire she still felt for the handsome woman sleeping soundly in bed did not extend to wanting to talk to her this morning, and she shrugged away the stirring sensation urging her to kiss those soft lips once more.
Too many questions,
she thought.
We’ve probably already exchanged more than we should.
Finally locating her missing articles of clothing, she ducked into the adjoining bathroom to dress. Emerging quietly, she blew a kiss at the sleeping beauty and whispered, “Thanks for showing this girl a good time when she needed it most.”

The house was large and contained many rooms. Morgan was surprised to see all the doors were shut, but relieved to know if there were others in the house it was unlikely anyone saw her departure. She quietly slipped out the front door and walked down the street. She looked first at her watch, noting it was seven a.m. Next, she looked around, searching for a reference point since she hadn’t paid an iota of attention to their destination the evening before. The nearest intersection was Abrams and Vickery. Morgan laughed. She was mere blocks away from where she had grown up. She rummaged through her bag and found her cell phone. Relieved to note remaining battery life, she dialed information and was connected with Yellow Cab, who promised to have a driver there within ten minutes.

Morgan spent the wait practicing her response to a range of reactions Tina might have to the news she had arrived in Dallas a week early. Pleasure was off the list, but surprise and dismay ranked high among her predictions. Whatever the reaction, Morgan knew she needed to spend some of the next thirty minutes coming up with a contingency plan, because she wasn’t likely to be staying at the posh Preston Hollow address she was headed to now.

The cab driver arrived and, like most cabbies in Dallas, had a poor grasp of map skills for any neighborhood not in his usual path. He was eager to take her anywhere in the surrounding Greenville area, but professed to know nothing about North Dallas. Morgan managed to pull up some long-forgotten map in her head and guided him through the city toward the residence she had planned to call home.

The tall, imposing house swallowed up the lot it was sitting on and seemed to spill out into the street to consume additional terrain. The neighborhood used to be beautiful, Morgan remembered. Ranch-style houses set back from the street, well-manicured lawns and stately trees once made driving through the Preston Hollow neighborhood seem like touring a cluster of country estates. Now many of the ranch homes were teardowns replaced by McMansions, such as the one Tina had commissioned. These fake palaces made the area, in Morgan’s opinion, seem cheap.
I suppose it’s just as well I won’t be staying long,
she thought.

Tina was sitting at the kitchen table nursing a steaming cup of coffee. She looked up at the sound of Morgan’s entrance. Morgan read fatigue and the blur of hangover behind the surprise Tina expressed at her arrival.

“Honey! When did you get here? Why didn’t you call and let me know you were coming?”

Morgan recalled stowing her luggage in the guest room closet when she arrived yesterday afternoon. She realized Tina didn’t have any idea she had been in the house the day before.

“Actually, Tina, I got here yesterday. I wrapped things up quicker than I expected and I thought I’d surprise you by coming out early.” Morgan watched the parade of expressions on her lover’s face go from confusion to understanding to reflection. Morgan figured Tina was wondering if she’d left anything incriminating lying around.

Tina’s expression settled on pleasure. “What a wonderful surprise!” She wrinkled her brow. “But wait a minute. If you got here last night, then where in the world have you been?”

“Gee, Tina, I was wondering when you were going to notice my absence. I would have explained, but since you were previously occupied I figured it didn’t matter what I did with my time.”

Tina’s puzzled look was almost convincing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Is that so? Let me help you remember.” Morgan was tired of the charade they had played out the last few years of their relationship, and the prospect of this confrontation held equal parts disgust and relief.

“I arrived last night in time to hear one of your new friends leave a message on the machine entreating you to join the ‘gang’ at Betty’s for happy hour. Silly me, I thought joining you would be a great opportunity to not only surprise you, but meet all the friends you’ve made while you toiled away the summer getting our new home ready. So I called a cab and went out to join you. Imagine my surprise when I discovered you have been very busy this summer. From what I observed, apparently your interests haven’t been confined to work and nesting.”

Tina mustered a look of righteous indignation. “Morgan, I don’t know what you think you saw, but—”

“Darling, don’t even say it. I am clear about what I saw. You and I haven’t exchanged as much physical passion in the last five years as you exchanged with the hottie on the dance floor last night. I didn’t know you still had it in you.”

Tina sat in silence. Morgan observed her and read her with the familiarity ten years of living together brings. Tina wasn’t going to deny her actions any longer, and it didn’t appear she was going to apologize for them either unless pushed to do so. Morgan no longer had the energy to push her into apologies she clearly didn’t mean. Regrettably, it had taken a move clear across the country to prove what they had known all along. Their relationship was beyond repair. Neither cared enough to heal the hurt between them, and Morgan knew it was time for her to move on, and the sooner she did so, the better off she would be.

“I’m going to go check into the Palomar until I find a place. The movers should be here tomorrow. I doubt I’ll be ready to have them divert what I need, so we’ll have to work out arrangements. I trust you’ll help make this go as smoothly as possible?” Morgan knew Tina was clear about what “this” was. The two had grown emotionally distant over the last few years, but they still had the capacity to read one another’s thoughts and feelings.

“So, this is it for us? We move all the way across the fucking country and after one day you’re leaving me?” The anger in her voice was clear as Tina pushed her to announce her desire.

“Yes, Tina, I’m leaving. We’ve both moved on. I’m sorry I ever agreed to come out here with you. I was stupid enough to think we could make a fresh start, but last night proved nothing has changed between us and it never will. We loved each other once, but we don’t anymore. It’s as simple as that.”

“Fucking lawyers. Everything is black or white, right or wrong. Maybe I got so sick of your logical approach to everything I decided to take a walk on the wild side. Can you blame me?”

“I guess not.” Morgan’s tone was flat. Continuing the argument with Tina would convey she cared and would only prolong her departure. She didn’t care anymore and she wanted out, now. Focusing on her goals, she strode to the guest room and retrieved her luggage. Without another word, she left the house and got into the still waiting cab. An extra twenty allowed the cabbie to overcome his frustration at being asked to head back uptown.

Rays of sunlight poked her in the eye. Parker flinched against the pain like a vampire whose coffin had been unceremoniously invaded during non-working hours. She didn’t want to get up, but she knew she would have to crawl out of bed and shut the blinds if she wanted to get any more sleep. Idly wondering if the sunlight was having the same effect on her overnight guest, Parker glanced across the bed. The pillow was askew and the covers in disarray, circumstantial evidence of the passion of the previous evening. However, the direct evidence was nowhere to be found. Parker opened both eyes wide and searched the room for Morgan. She wasn’t there.