Unbreakable (42 page)

Jacie leaned against her truck. "Hey, Nina?" she said softly.

Nina stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Jacie's neck, tangling her fingers in thick hair. "Yeah?"

She grinned girlishly. "Can you come out and play?"

Nina laughed. "Depends."

Jacie feigned insult. "On what?"

"Well…" Nina tapped her chin with her index finger. "How long do you want to play? I have to plan my schedule, you know."

"Depends," Jacie shot back haughtily. "I have world records to break, you know. I'm a busy woman. How long do you want to play?"

"Forever," Nina answered seriously, tightening her arms around Jacie. "I want you forever. Some things were never meant to change, Jacie Ann."

Jacie could feel a nearly electric current running between them. "Same goes for me. Only for longer if you're free."

"Hmm…." Nina smiled playfully. "Then I'll have to ask my mom." She paused. "And my son."

Jacie leaned forward and brushed her mouth against Nina's, grinning against the smiling lips that met hers. "Lead the way."

"Really?"

Jacie nodded once, the breeze carrying with it a whiff of Nina's shampoo. "Really. I'm yours."

Nina's eyebrows jumped. "In that case…" She took Jacie's hand and began leading her back toward the B&B.

"Hey," Jacie glanced over her shoulder at the carriage house, having to increase her stride just to keep up with Nina. "Where are we going?"

"We're going back inside. I'll find Mrs. Artiste and make sure a room will be available for tonight. Now that I've got you to myself, there's no way I'm giving you up so quickly." Determinedly, she kept on walking. "You got a problem with that?"

Jacie laughed. "No, ma'am. I just thought you were anxious to get home and get ready for your new job."

Nina stopped walking and turned to face Jacie. She laid her palms on Jacie's chest, warm skin heating her hands though soft denim. "Do you really want to know what I'm anxious about?"

Jacie stepped a little closer so that their bodies were touching all along their lengths. "Mm. Of course."

"You're sure?"

Jacie inclined her head and waited.

"Okay, I'm anxious to know when I can see you again and what it will be like and if you'll ever let me get to second base."

Jacie started laughing. "You don't need to worry about that, Nina," she assured her, her voice a sexy purr. "I have dibs on batting first and I intend to make sure that you're too tired to care what happens after that."

Nina's mouth went bone dry, but she did her best to continue. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough blood left in her brain to think straight. "Uh… What was I talking about?"

Jacie bit back a smile. God, she loved her. "What you're anxious about?"

"Oh, yeah. I-I'm anxious about when I can tell my son, and my mom, and my neighbors, and everyone I meet on the street that you're my girlfriend. I'm thinking of getting a t-shirt made."

Charmed, Jacie let go of her smile. Her friends had always labeled her as the fearless one of the group.
If they only knew.
"What else?" She gave her a little nudge. "C'mon, I wanna hear more."

The smile reached Nina's eyes before the rest of her face. "I'm anxious to hear about what sort of TV programs and music and food you like nowadays and whether you'll invite me to go camping with you and Emily."

"I want to know all those things about you, too."

"Nuh uh. Wait your turn."

"Were you always this bossy?"

Nina's eyes twinkled. "No, I've really chilled out over the years."

Jacie chuckled. Then she tried to sound aggrieved, but couldn't quite manage it. "Court TV and the Home and Garden Channel, classic rock and sometimes jazz, and absolutely anything…. so long as it's pizza."

"Thin crust, extra sauce?"

"Is there another kind?"

Nina sighed. "The perfect woman."

"And you and Robbie are invited to go camping with us and to anything else we're doing." Then she wrinkled her nose. "But I'm not baiting your hook anymore. That's just gross and doing it for myself and Emily is bad enough."

Nina shrugged. "Not a problem. That's the whole reason I had a son. You're off the hook." She waggled her eyebrows. "So to speak."

Jacie put her hands on her hips. "Is that everything?" She pointed at the B&B. "There's a hot tub we never got to use in there, you know."

"Nuh uh." Nina peered at her from behind fair lashes. The way Jacie was looking at her filled her with bravery, and so she went for broke. She gently kissed Jacie's chin. "I'm anxious to wake up with you in my bed," another kiss on the tip of the nose, "and in my arms," this time the kiss skirted the very edge of full lips, "and to know that it's for keeps." She crossed her fingers and toes, hoping she wasn't pushing farther or faster than Jacie was willing to go.

She needn't have worried.

"Nina?"

Nina gulped. "Yeah?"

"Why don't we shoot for that to happen tomorrow morning? We can go back to your place." Jacie gently tucked a strand of Nina's blowing hair behind her ear.

"I don't have a hot tub."

"Somehow we'll manage." Jacie let herself feel Nina's nearness. It was a heady feeling that she never wanted to end. "I think I'm going to be calling in sick for a few days."

A smile lit blue-green eyes from within, and impossibly, Nina found a way to snuggle even closer. So close, they were sharing the same breath. "You do?"

"Mm…. Most definitely."

Nina's heart soared. "So do I." Then she said the first thing that popped into her mind. "Hey, Jacie, isn't it about time we kissed again?"

Jacie looked at her watch and grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

THE END

Coming in 2005 from Fortitude Press
Unbreakable
- the novel.