Les Tales (27 page)

The light was too bright. Chloe turned over in the bed and away from the morning sunshine. The sheets shifted against her naked body, and she sighed at the sensation of the cotton against her bare nipples, her back, and belly. She moaned and settled deeper into the sheets.

“You keep making those noises, and I won't be responsible for what happens between us today.”

Her eyes flew open to see Kai in the doorway. She had showered and gotten dressed, impeccably put together in dress shoes, black slacks, and a gray sweater over a white button-down shirt. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and framed her handsome, smiling face. She looked like she was ready for a meeting.

Chloe stared at her, amazed at the difference between this woman and the one who had stumbled out of bed last night, regretting everything they had done together.

“Good morning,” she said tentatively, keeping the sheets over her breasts.

“Yes, it is.”

Chloe frowned. “What have you done with the Kai from last night?”

“This is me, Little Bit. Just sober, unlike last night.” Kai tapped long fingers against her thigh. “Take a shower and get dressed. I'm taking you to breakfast.”

“I—”

“No arguments. Your bag is at the foot of the bed, and everything you might need is in the bathroom. You have forty minutes.”

Then Kai left the doorway, her sexy, loose-limbed walk taking her down the hallway and toward the living room.

“What the hell?” Chloe stared after her.

But she didn't bother wasting any time. She flung the covers back and quickly made the bed before hopping into the shower. Even though she wanted to linger over her body, savor the sensation of stroking places that Kai had so recently touched, she was mindful of the instructions she'd received, and thoroughly scrubbed her body instead, leaving the savoring for another time.

Within thirty minutes she was dressed in her ankle boots, skinny jeans, and a red cowl-necked sweater. Her makeup was impeccable but her nerves were a mess when she left the bedroom in search of Kai.

The other woman was in the kitchen, sitting at the small dining table, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper. Kai lifted her head when Chloe came through the door. Her bright eyes darkened as they took in her outfit, her figure, her face.

“You look beautiful, Chloe.”

This was the Kai she was used to. Controlled and debonair. Charming and unwavering in her pursuit of every sort of pleasure available to a woman. She was glad to see the uncertain, drunken woman from last night gone. But hadn't she been the one who had made love to Chloe? Hadn't she been the one who was out of control enough to take what she wanted?

“Thank you.” Chloe cleared her throat. “Any more orders for me, Ms. Harrington?”

Kai's eyes sparkled. “Not yet. But it's still early in the day.” She put aside the newspaper and drained the last of the coffee, then got up to rinse out the mug in the sink.

Chloe couldn't help but watch her slow, graceful movements around the kitchen, the press of her butt against the slacks, the long legs and the beautiful body, which were only emphasized by the slim-cut pants.

Kai turned around, her eyes still amused. “You like what you see?”

Chloe didn't bother saying anything but the truth. “Very much.”

“Good. Are you ready to go?”

She was more than ready. Curiosity was eating away at her about what the Kai of serious talks and paternal distance had to say to her this morning that was different from what her lover had said last night.

“I'm ready whenever you are.”

They left the apartment for a restaurant nearby, Chloe feeling simultaneously proud to be at the older woman's side and nervous about the reason for their conversation. In her slim-fitting slacks and three-quarter-length coat, and with her snapping gingerbread and mint eyes, Kai attracted more than a few second glances. Her entire look shouted power dyke, and her energy was so sexy and potent that it gave Chloe chills as she remembered what they had done together the night before.

At the restaurant, Kai opened the door for her, ushering Chloe ahead of her with a hand at the small of her back. From the outside, it was a cozy and unassuming place with an anonymous-looking set of glass windows, an innocuous sign on the door. But once they walked in, the place was gorgeous. Stone floors, old-fashioned Campari posters on the walls, a long and elegant bar, with a gorgeous tuxedoed woman smiling from behind it.

The tables were small and round, intimate, like the ones Chloe had seen in a thousand advertisements for European and African cafés. The walls were each painted a solid color, a deep yellow, ocean blue. The clientele was mixed, though mostly female, nearly a dozen tables filled with patrons, even though it was a Tuesday morning. The place smelled like delicious cooked things.

People glanced up as they came in. Chloe thought she saw envy directed at her for being with such a fine woman. Her cheeks warmed with pride and an awareness of Kai. The hostess seated them at a corner table, with a blue wall framing Kai. Two glasses of Perrier later, they placed their orders.

Kai took in the restaurant with a slow and appraising eye before turning back to Chloe. “You looked beautiful in bed this morning.”

Chloe found herself blushing, remembering how it felt to awaken naked, the sun on her face, the sheets brushing her nipples as she luxuriated in the afterglow. Across the table, Kai's gaze was amused, in control.

This was the calm Kai, whom Chloe was more than familiar with. The woman who approached any crisis—whether it be Chloe's first car accident or being downsized at work—with a levelheadedness and calm designed to put those around her at ease while masking her own panic. This was also the shrewd corporate strategist who never blinked first.

“I'm glad to see you're so calm about this,” Chloe said.

Kai chuckled softly. “The truth is, I'm absolutely terrified about what happened between us last night. But it won't do any good to ignore or avoid it.” She leaned back in her chair, bracing an arm against the table's edge. “You were so responsive and luscious last night. I can't let that go without saying so. You deserve to know that I enjoyed myself and had a wonderful time making love to you in my bed.”

Jesus!

Chloe felt her face roasting in the face of Kai's casual acknowledgement of their lovemaking. This was what she wanted, wasn't it? And she should have known that Kai wouldn't avoid talking about what this thing was between them. Her new lover was not a coward. Still, she waited for the other shoe to drop.

“Last night shouldn't have happened,” Kai said.

The other shoe.

Chloe took a careful sip of her sparkling water, giving herself time to respond to that unfair statement.

“It shouldn't have happened,” Kai said again. “And I have absolutely zero excuses for it. I have been celibate before, and I have never taken advantage of a woman just to get off after a dry spell. I have been drunk before and have never dragged a woman to my bed to fuck her just for my own satisfaction.”

Chloe couldn't keep silent then. “You didn't drag me anywhere, Kai. I was already in your bed and waiting for you. And you certainly didn't take any kind of advantage of me. I was ready and willing to make love to you. I've wanted it for far longer than you've been celibate.”

“Well.” Kai's eyebrows popped up, and she adjusted her napkin in her lap. She sighed, seeming at a loss for words. But, of course, that didn't last long. “Your mother is not going to like this.”

“Why do you have to tell her?”

“I'm not going to tell her anything.
We
are.” Kai's eyes flickered like lightning over Chloe's face and throat before she looked up at the waitress, who had arrived with their hot drinks—a cappuccino and a hot chocolate. She waited until the woman left to speak again. “It's bad enough that I did it, but it's worse that I want to do it again.” That smile of Kai's came again, a flickering and searing look that made Chloe's nipples tighten against the sweater, made that place between her thighs tingle with the first stroke of arousal. “Thanks for coming out to breakfast with me. I didn't want to risk falling into bed with you again by having this conversation in the apartment.”

Chloe blushed again. Pleasure and amusement made her smile despite the gravity of their discussion. “It's not like you gave me a choice, Ms. Harrington.”

“True. My apologies. Sometimes I can be a little high-handed.”

And Chloe had never known that side of Kai. Not really. She'd known about the stern disciplinarian. The woman who bought her anything she asked for as a child. She'd even known the best friend who would stand by her mother no matter what. But this lover who took charge with casual and complete confidence was new to her. This side of Kai made her melt even more.

“Don't apologize,” Chloe said. “I like it.”

Kai shook her head. “And that's exactly what I'm talking about.”

It was then that their food came. Chloe's broccoli and cheese omelet and oven-warmed wheat bread. Kai's buttery cheese grits with a side of eggs, which she nearly covered completely in hot sauce.

“So, what do you mean that we are going to tell Mom what happened?” Chloe bit into her buttery wheat bread, licking her lips from the slightly crisp outside, the soft and chewy texture just beneath.

Kai's eyes fastened on Chloe's mouth. She didn't say anything for a moment. Then she answered, “Just like I said. We need to face her together and tell her what happened. I don't want her to get the wrong idea or blame the wrong person.”

“It was my fault,” Chloe said immediately. “I was the one who came to New York and threw myself at you.”

“But did you throw yourself at me at the fair too?”

No. That night at the fair had caught her by surprise. Yes, she'd wanted Kai for years, but that night at the fair she realized that Kai had wanted her too.

“Was that the first time you . . . ?” Chloe didn't even know how to finish the sentence.

Kai tilted her head, obviously debating whether or not to tell the truth. “Unfortunately, no. I've thought about you as a woman for at least the last couple of years. I was very grateful you were at a school all the way across the country.”

“Thank you.” Chloe smiled.

“For what?”

“For being honest with me. I've wanted you for so many years that I felt completely alone and wrong.”

“Make no mistake. Because it's mutual doesn't make it right.”

Chloe shook her head. “I don't want to believe that.” Then she remembered how Kai had been last night, tortured.

I'm going to hell for this.

She sighed. “But I don't want to hurt you, Kai. Whatever you want is what we'll do.” Even though it would kill her. At least she could get herself together enough to leave Georgia within the next month and be away from the source of her temptation.

“I brought this on myself.” Kai lifted her fork but did not touch her food. “They are my own feelings, Little Bit.”

“I'm not your Little Bit,” Chloe said gently. “I outgrew that nickname a long time ago.”

“I have to keep thinking of you as that if I'm going to release this thing. It's for the best. We'll tell your mother when I get back to Atlanta.”

Chloe's heart thumped painfully at the thought of that conversation. She had screwed everything up so badly. The least of which was, potentially, the friendship between her mother and Kai.

She gently blew on her hot cocoa to cool it then brought the mug to her lips in time to see Kai's bright eyes devouring her in a way they never had before.

It was because they had had sex. It had to be. Now that the dam had broken, now that they each knew how the other tasted, it was going to be even harder than before. Chloe put the mug down, licking at the corner of her lips to get rid of any errant traces of the hot drink. Across from her, Kai made a ragged noise.

“I think you're trying to kill me.” Kai put down her fork and gulped down half her water. “And I think you're doing it on purpose.”

Chloe smiled but shook her head. “I'm not responsible for your lecherous thoughts.”

“And therein lies the problem.” She put down the water glass and braced her arms on the edges of the table. “Chloe—”

“Let me stay with you for the rest of the time you're in New York.”

“What?”

“Let me stay.” Chloe put a hand around the mug of cocoa but did not lift it. “I'm not ready to face Mom yet. Not about this.”

“But you have to.” Kai's voice was firm.

“I know. But not yet. Please.”

Her insides trembled at the very idea of it. How could she tell her mother, and Duncan, about the secret she'd harbored in her heart all these years? How could she have it exposed and treated like something dirty and perverted and wrong?

“Just give me a few days' reprieve. I'm waiting to hear back from my interviews. Maybe one of the jobs will pan out before you have to leave. Then we can tell Mom and I can move to New York. I don't want to stay in the house with her if she's going to flip out on me.” She'd feel too guilty if she had to look at her mother's face, see the evidence of the friendship she'd destroyed.

“I'm not sure that's the best idea, Chloe. I've got to be here for another three days, and we'll be alone together the whole time. It won't be the safest situation.”

Chloe propped her chin on an upraised fist, deliberately leaning closer to Kai. “I do have self-control, you know.”

“But what if I don't?” Kai was staring at her mouth.

Heat surged up Chloe's throat, and she swallowed, then cleared her throat. “Okay. How about this? It can be like a simple escort situation. We agree now to the terms. No sex.” She flushed harder as the words left her mouth. Just saying the word
sex
made her think of the other woman's hands on her. “Just like an escort. Like when I was in college. We can even draw up a contract.”