The Color of Love (33 page)

Emily laughed, lightness flooding her heart.
She couldn’t fight what she wanted so much. Love was about believing, about
taking the gifts that were offered and rejoicing in them. “I want us to be
together always.”

Derian grinned. “Are you going to marry me,
then, because I want us to get married.” She kissed Emily quickly before a
question or protest could form on her lips. “Not because of Henrietta, not
because of the agency, not even because of your visa. I want you to be mine and
I want everyone to know it. I want us to have a life together, to make life
what we want it to be, together. And…I want everyone to know I’m yours.”

Emily slid her hand into Derian’s hair and
gave a little tug. “That means only mine. All mine. You understand that,
right?”

“I’ve been all yours since the first kiss.
All I think about is you, all I’ll ever want is you. For better or for worse.”

“For today and tomorrow,” Emily whispered.

“For all the tomorrows.” Derian rolled over,
slid a leg between Emily’s thighs, and kissed her throat. “Did you just say
yes?”

“Yes, God, yes.” Emily arched her back and
wrapped a leg around the back of Derian’s calf. “You make me feel so good.”

“Yes, what? Yes, Derian, I will marry you…”
Derian swirled her tongue around a very firm nipple. “Or yes, Derian, I want
you to make mad, passionate love to me forever and ever.”

“Both.” Emily clutched Derian’s shoulder.
“You are so arrogant. God.”

“You like me that way.”

“Yes, I do. Now, show me just how good you
really are.”

Laughing, Derian trailing kisses along the
curve of Emily’s breast and down her belly, slipping a hand between them to
stroke and tease. “I can’t stop wanting you.”

“Don’t, don’t ever.” Emily’s mind was
fragmenting, words deserting her. She rocked to the rhythm of Derian’s caresses
and, when a shock wave jolted through her, grasped Derian’s arms. “Hold me. I’m
coming.”

Derian gathered Emily up just as Emily cried
out against her shoulder, catching a bit of skin and muscle in her teeth.
Derian, already breathless and blinded by Emily’s beauty, groaned at the
unexpected possession. So damn good. The tension spiraling between her thighs
erupted. “Oh yeah.”

Weakly Emily shoved at Derian’s shoulder.
“Done. Done, done, done. Go ’way.”

Laughing, Derian rolled onto her side and
pulled Emily against her. “You just need a little food, and you’ll recover.”

“I may never get out of this bed.”

“Fine by me, but all the same, I’ll call for
room service.”

Emily held on to her a little harder. “Not
just yet.”

“Hey, are you okay?” Derian brushed a wisp of
a tear from Emily’s cheek. “What’s wrong?”

“Absolutely nothing. Everything is right. I
love you so much.”

“I love you. I can’t wait for you to be all
mine.”

“I already am,” Emily said with absolute
certainty. “But I still plan on marrying you just as soon as we can arrange
it.”

“So is this like a pre-honeymoon, then?”
Derian kissed her.

“Whatever you like. But you really will have
to feed me soon, if you want to keep celebrating.”

“Calling right now.” Derian lunged for the
phone.

“And, Derian?”

“Hmm?”

“When room service comes? Don’t forget to put
some clothes on. Because from now on, the only one who’s ever going to see you
naked is me.”

Derian laughed, already relishing the idea of
being all Emily’s. “There must be a robe around here somewhere.”

Radclyffe has written
over fifty romance and romantic intrigue novels, dozens of short stories, and,
writing as L.L. Raand, has authored a paranormal romance series, The Midnight
Hunters.

She is an eight-time
Lambda Literary Award finalist in romance, mystery, and erotica—winning in both
romance (
Distant Shores,
Silent Thunder
) and erotica (
Erotic
Interludes 2: Stolen Moments
edited with Stacia Seaman and
In Deep Waters 2: Cruising the
Strip
written with Karin Kallmaker). A member of the Saints and
Sinners Literary Hall of Fame, she is also an RWA/FF&P Prism Award winner
for
Secrets in the Stone
,
an RWA FTHRW Lories and RWA HODRW winner for
Firestorm
,
an RWA Bean Pot winner for
Crossroads
,
and an RWA Laurel Wreath winner for
Blood
Hunt
. In 2014 she was awarded the Dr. James Duggins Outstanding
Mid-Career Novelist Award by the Lambda Literary Foundation. She is a featured
author in the 2015 documentary film
Love
Between the Covers
, from Blueberry Hill Productions.

She is also the
president of Bold Strokes Books, one of the world’s largest independent LGBTQ
publishing companies.

Find her at
facebook.com/Radclyffe.BSB, follow her on Twitter @RadclyffeBSB, and visit her website at Radfic.com.

Best Laid Plans
by Jan Gayle. Nicky and Lauren are
meant for each other, but Nicky’s haunting past and Lauren’s societal fears
threaten to derail all possibilities of a relationship. (978-1-62639-658-6)

Exchange
by CF Frizzell. When Shay Maguire rode into rural
Montana, she never expected to meet the woman of her dreams—or to learn Mel
Baker was held hostage by legal agreement to her right-wing father.
(978-1-62639-679-1)

Just Enough Light
by AJ Quinn. Will a serial killer’s
return to Colorado destroy Kellen Ryan and Dana Kingston’s chance at love, or
can the search-and-rescue team save themselves? (978-1-62639-685-2)

Rise of the Rain Queen
by Fiona Zedde. Nyandoro is nobody’s
princess. She fights, curses, fornicates, and gets into as much trouble as her
brothers. But the path to a throne is not always the one we expect.
(978-1-62639-592-3)

Tales from Sea Glass Inn
by Karis Walsh. Over the course of a
year at Cannon Beach, tourists and locals alike find solace and passion at the
Sea Glass Inn. (978-1-62639-643-2)

The Color of Love
by Radclyffe. Black sheep Derian
Winfield needs to convince literary agent Emily May to marry her to save the
Winfield Agency and solve Emily’s green card problem, but Derian didn’t count
on falling in love. (978-1-62639-716-3)

A Reluctant Enterprise
by Gun Brooke. When two women grow
up learning nothing but distrust, unworthiness, and abandonment, it’s no wonder
they are apprehensive and fearful when an overwhelming love just won’t be
denied. (978-1-62639-500-8)

Above the Law
by Carsen Taite. Love is the last
thing on Agent Dale Nelson’s mind, but reporter Lindsey Ryan’s investigation
could change the way she sees everything—her career, her past, and her future.
(978-1-62639-558-9)

Actual Stop
by Kara A. McLeod. When Special
Agent Ryan O’Connor’s present collides abruptly with her past, shots are fired,
and the course of her life is irrevocably altered. (978-1-62639-675-3)

Embracing the Dawn
by Jeannie Levig. When ex-con Jinx
Tanner and business executive E. J. Bastien awaken after a one-night stand to
find their lives inextricably entangled, love has its work cut out for it.
(978-1-62639-576-3)

Love’s Redemption
by Donna K. Ford. For ex-convict
Rhea Daniels and ex-priest Morgan Scott, redemption lies in the thin line
between right and wrong. (978-1-62639-673-9)

The Shewstone
by Jane Fletcher. The prophetic
Shewstone is in Eawynn’s care, but unfortunately for her, Matt is coming to
steal it. (978-1-62639-554-1)

Jane’s World
by Paige Braddock. Jane’s PayBuddy
account gets hacked and she inadvertently purchases a mail order bride from the
Eastern Bloc. (978-1-62639-494-0)

A Touch of Temptation
by Julie Blair. Recent law school
graduate Kate Dawson’s ordained path to the perfect life gets thrown off course
when handsome butch top Chris Brent initiates her to sexual pleasure.
(978-1-62639-488-9)

Beneath the Waves
by Ali Vali. Kai Merlin and Vivien
Palmer love the water and the secrets trapped in the depths, but if Kai gives
in to her feelings, it might come at a cost to her entire realm. (978-1-62639-609-8)