Chase made a quick detour away from her temporary quarters and headed down to the lake. No way was she going to be able to sleep now, not with yet another kiss from Lily still burning on her lips. Just a little good night, thank you for a nice night kiss that had her tied up in knots. Not altogether unpleasant knots, for sure, but way too tight and tangled for her to ignore. She’d been teasing when she’d said Lily had no game. The woman had game in caps—precisely because she didn’t play at anything. Lily didn’t pretend she wasn’t interested in Chase or that she didn’t want something to happen between them—instead she looked at Chase with a hunger she didn’t bother to hide. Lily said no and said why, right up front. And Chase couldn’t argue. Lily felt what Lily felt. And anything between them was destined to be short-term—only this summer. But a night, a week—hell, a month—with Lily? Chase knew in her bones even the least of it would be unforgettable. And that left her waiting for Lily’s next move. Not her usual style at all.
Usually she did the chasing—yeah, she’d heard all the jokes there were about that, but truth was she liked the hunt maybe more than the eventual catch. Probably why none of her affairs—couldn’t call them relationships—went anywhere. Fan the flames, ride the fireball, and move on when the heat cooled. No hurt feelings and definitely no broken hearts. She was good at it, even if lately the whole routine had become so routine, she’d lost interest in playing. Mostly.
Until Lily. When she’d first seen her, she’d had that immediate, Oh yeah, she’s definitely worth getting to know reaction. Gorgeous and sexy, plus challenging and unpredictable. Still, she’d met other women with those attributes, and none had kept her awake at night. None had her on edge and simmering twenty-four seven. Lily was like no one she’d ever known—self-contained, self-aware, deliberate, and direct. She wasn’t afraid to let Chase see her desire, and she wasn’t afraid to walk away from it. That elusive sexuality hooked Chase deep. Okay, Lily might have said no, not tonight, but she hadn’t told Chase to walk away. She’d told her not yet.
Not yet.
Chase’s stomach clenched, and everything a little lower pulsed, full and tight. Her head joined in, and images of Lily naked beside her, beneath her, above her, kaleidoscoped through her brain. The pounding in her belly amped up a few hundred beats per second. “Fuck.”
Lily had all the power, and she didn’t even know it. If she didn’t decide soon, Chase would probably go down in flames. Or just plain incinerate. She wanted Lily that much.
She strode down the dock, shedding clothes on the way, and dove into the lake as the moon crested the mountains. She swam until the pain of exhausted muscles replaced the ache of lust. Back on the dock, she wearily pulled her jeans and shirt back on and trudged up the trail. Halfway up, the sound of muted voices caught her attention, and she stepped off into the cover of the pines. No one appeared on the trail she’d just taken back from the lake. Must have been someone on one of the adjacent trails that circled the ridge and the cabins. Couple of campers out after hours—not unheard of. She’d had quite a few stolen moments with a girl or two when she’d spent summers at the camps where Sarah oversaw the summer programs. She shook her head and continued up to her room. She’d let the counselors know that their bed checks might need to be doubled.
“Good swim?” Sarah asked from the shadows by the stairs to Chase’s room.
“Always is.” She eased down on the bench beside her sister. “I’m kinda old for you to be waiting up for me.”
Sarah laughed. “True. And I wasn’t. I saw the Jeep come in and figured I should catch you while I could. You have been pretty scarce around here since the season started.”
Chase sighed. “Not intentionally. You know we’re spread thin, and this extra duty doesn’t help.”
“I know. Peace.” Sarah stretched an arm along the back on the bench and tapped Chase’s shoulder. “So, how was dinner?”
“Nice,” Chase said noncommittally.
“Not big on the details,” Sarah said casually.
Chase let out a breath. “Let’s see, we got Lily the boots she’s been needing.”
Sarah chuckled. “Very practical.”
“Walked around a bit, stopped for ice cream, had dinner at the Thai place. Just, you know, casual.” Chase hoped she sounded casual. Remembering the ice cream brought a little tightness to her chest and the buzzing back in her belly. Lily had liked watching her. Lily watched her a lot, and she liked that. That’s all it took really, was knowing Lily liked looking at her. If she thought about it too hard, she’d know she was in big trouble. Especially right now.
“That does sound nice,” Sarah said. “Do you think Lily is doing okay here at camp?”
“Yeah,” Chase said, “she seems to be enjoying it. Why, are you worried about her for some reason?”
“No, not really, but you know, I have a tendency to push people into things maybe they don’t actually want to do.”
Sarah shrugged, a motion Chase could make out even in the moonlight and shadows. Her sister tended to worry, and if she wasn’t, she’d worry about what she should be worried about. Chase draped an arm around Sarah’s shoulders. “You know, that’s not really true. You might be a little pushy sometimes, but a lot of the time you just show people the way they really want to go before they’re quite ready to admit it. I guess you could call that foresight.”
“Sometimes I think…”
“What?” Chase said gently. “What’s going on, Sarah?”
Sarah shifted to face her. “Maybe I shouldn’t have kept you here with me, when Mom died. Grandmom—”
“What the hell, Sarah?” Chase shot upright. “Grandmom lived in Chicago, and we never really saw her. You know she didn’t like Dad. I would have been on the road back here in a week.”
“You were ten.”
“So?”
Sarah laughed. “You’re right. Crazy idea.”
“And just what do you think would have been different?” Chase said. “Do you think you would have kept me off the mountain? Because if it hadn’t been Casson Peak, it would have been another one, somewhere. Until someday—”
“I’m sorry,” Sarah said urgently. “Don’t go there. I wanted you here. I would have been lost without you.”
“Same here,” Chase said gruffly. “So can we leave the past where it belongs?”
“Can you?” Sarah asked,
Chase hesitated. She’d had dreams and she’d lost them. She’d been bitter for a long time—even to the point, she realized, of resenting the clueless campers who, like her at that age, had thought they could do anything and be anyone they chose. Some of them probably would. And…good for them.
She had a different life than the one she’d imagined, but she wasn’t ten now, or even twenty. And she had something else—someone else—she wanted now.
“Yes.”
Sarah must have heard the conviction in her voice and, in the way she’d always had of reading between the lines, probably heard what Chase didn’t say. She let out a breath. “Sometimes I just think I ought to keep some of my opinions to myself. Lily might be a tad annoyed with me.”
“Lily knows you come from a good place.” Chase leaned over and kissed Sarah’s cheek. “And so do I. And now, I’m going to bed because I have to take the angels…sorry, campers, to the climbing wall tomorrow. And won’t that be fun.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?” Sarah asked.
Chase bristled. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Now you’re making assumptions,” Sarah said. “I’m talking about your shoulder. And come to think of it, how is it?”
“To tell you the truth, I’ve practically forgotten about it. But I promise I’ll get the doctor’s seal of approval in the morning.”
Sarah laughed. “Now why doesn’t that surprise me.”
“Can’t imagine,” Chase said as she rose to go upstairs. “’Night, Sarah.”
“’Night, Chase,” Sarah called softly after her.
Chase let herself into the plainly furnished but serviceable apartment, shucked her clothes, and stretched out naked on the narrow bed below the window. She could see the moon above the trees when she turned on her side. She smiled to herself. She’d started out the evening with plans that didn’t include sleeping alone. But rather than be disappointed, she felt weirdly content. She’d see Lily in the morning, and for right now, that was all that mattered.
* * *
Marty tensed as the cabin door opened and closed softly behind them. They’d made a bet with themself as to who it might be, and won when Ford dropped down on the top stair beside them.
“Hi,” Marty said.
“What are you doing out here?” Ford said, drawing her knees up toward her chest and wrapping both arms around them.
At just before midnight the night was cool, the sky clear, and the stars a billion flashing points of brilliance scattered across an inky sky. The moon played hide-and-seek behind clouds that raced by as if on their way to some other world. Why wouldn’t they want to be out here instead of in a twenty-by-twenty-foot dorm with seven other people and a couple of windows that barely let in a pathetic breeze? That didn’t sound like something they could say, though. Just something else to make them seem weird.
“I was finishing a book,” Marty said, pointing at the closed e-reader beside them. “It was nice out here, and more comfortable than the bunk.”
“You got that right,” Ford muttered. “I can’t believe my parents even knew about this place.”
“Couldn’t sleep?” Marty ventured to ask, not really sure if Ford would welcome conversation, but they were sitting out there together, and pretending otherwise seemed silly.
“Oh, it was hot in there and…” Ford’s voice drifted off, and after a second she said, “What are you reading?”
“A book about an alternate ancient world with sorcery and dragons.”
Ford snorted softly. “Really? A fantasy.”
“Yep.”
“Kind of surprised. You don’t strike me as the fantasy sort of girl.” Ford hesitated. “Guess that’s not really right, is it, the girl part?”
“Well,” Marty said slowly, wondering if the question was serious or just snark, “I don’t really identify with being a girl or boy.”
“Yeah, I got that part. So, are you bi?”
Another unexpected question, but Marty didn’t detect the usual condescension or ridicule. “No.” They decided to take a risk. “Ace. How about you?”
“Cis and straight.” Ford paused. “Mostly.”
Marty laughed. “Fluid, right?”
“That. Yeah.”
“Do you really hate being here?” Marty asked.
“Yeah,” Ford said. “Not really as much as I thought, though. But jeez, rock climbing?”
“It’ll be fun,” Marty said. “I’m pretty sure we’ll do the climbing wall first, before we actually, you know, do some bouldering.”
“Do some bouldering,” Ford said very slowly. “You are really weird.”
“I’ve been told.”
Ford huffed. “Oh, not because of that. I’m not meaning sex or whatever.”
Ford shifted and her knee lightly brushed Marty’s. That felt weird, and Marty slowly eased away until the contact broke.
“So why then?” Marty couldn’t seem to stop asking questions they knew they’d regret. But Ford was actually talking to them, and that made the risk worth it.
“You’re all over this outdoorsy stuff. Do you want to be a ranger or something?”
“I’m not really into the law enforcement part of rangering,” Marty said, “but I’ve been wilderness hiking and camping for as long as I can remember. With my dad.”
“That’s cool, I guess,” Ford said, sounding like nothing could be less cool.
Marty laughed. “You’d rather be sailing, right?”
“How do you know that?”
Even in the moonlight, Marty could tell Ford regarded them suspiciously.
“I heard you talking to Shannon. I wasn’t trying to.”
“Huh. Yeah. I’ve been sailing since forever. I just never figured my summer would be anything else.”
Marty nodded. “I guess maybe we love what we learn to love, you know, when we’re little.”
“You’re being weird again, Marty,” Ford said.
“Right.”
“So how come you’re not off somewhere, you know, doing wilderness stuff with him?”
“He’s active duty,” Marty said flatly. “Right now he’s in Africa.”
“Oh. He’s a soldier.”
“Army.”
“So you live with your mom when he’s not around?”
“No, my grandmother. She lives in Huntington, so that works out for the school year. But I wouldn’t want to spend the summer there.”
“Boy, we couldn’t be more different.”
“I noticed,” Marty said flatly.
Ford laughed again. “True—”
Alisha emerged from the trailhead and ambled over to them. “Late night. What are you two doing up still?”
“Sharing our life stories,” Ford said sarcastically.
Alisha looked between the two of them. “Everyone else bedded down in there?”
“Yeah,” Ford said quickly.
Marty tensed. Shannon’s bunk was empty.
Alisha said, “Probably a good idea to get some sleep. Busy day tomorrow.”
Marty stood up quickly. “I’m headed inside.”
Alisha moved off to the next cabin, and Ford stood up and looked at Marty. “What?”
“Why do you cover for her?” Marty asked softly.
“Because she’s my friend,” Ford said sharply. “Something you might not understand.”
“No,” Marty said, “I guess not.”
Ford didn’t follow them inside, but a few minutes later Shannon and Ford came in together and went to their bunks.
Marty lay awake awhile, thinking about friendship and what you would do for your friends. Their dad would say you would die for your friends. But would you lie for them? Would they expect you to? Marty had to think about that.
* * *
Lily hadn’t dreamed, but in those few moments between sleep and waking, she’d drifted in a half-aroused memory of the previous night and the latest kiss she’d been unable to contain. With a sigh she rolled onto her back and opened her eyes. Kissing Chase was becoming a habit, one she enjoyed. It didn’t have to be complicated—Chase’s words, and true. Chase had been clear—no obligations, no expectations. One day at a time, no regrets in the morning. Lily’d left New York, but she really hadn’t left the feeling of impending chaos and imminent failure behind, and she needed to. Wanted to. And couldn’t think of any better way to spend a summer than enjoying time with a woman she enjoyed. For the summer, at least, she could live a day at a time.
After a quick shower, she grabbed a cup of coffee and headed over to the clinic. Chase sat on the steps, a cup of coffee in her hand.
“Good morning,” Lily said.
Chase rose. “Hi. How was your night?”
“My evening was terrific, and I slept very well. I hope this is a professional visit.”
“Hey. That kind of hurts.”
Lily grinned. “I’m sure your ego is not damaged. Come inside so I can look at that shoulder.”
She unlocked the door and stepped inside. Before she could turn the lights on, Chase slid her arms around her waist. And kissed her.
“That’s what I’ve been thinking about all night. Didn’t get much sleep,” Chase murmured. “I want you, Lily. So damn much. Kiss me. Please.”
Lily didn’t even think about protesting. She put her arms around Chase’s neck and leaned into the kiss. Chase tasted faintly of coffee and peppermint and heat. Her lips were firm and silky. Lily ran her tongue over Chase’s bottom lip and tugged it lightly between her teeth.
Her fingers curled of their own volition into the fabric of Chase’s T-shirt, gripping her shoulders. Chase’s muscles trembled beneath her palms. She loved feeling all that power melting beneath her touch. Chase’s thigh, lean and hard, edged against hers, and she parted her legs to let Chase closer. Chase’s hand drifted up her side and cupped her breast, the sensation so exquisite she might as well have been naked. A rush of heat swamped her, and pressure instantly built between her thighs. She lifted her hips, and Chase’s thigh rocked rhythmically into her center. So much need—too much.
Mistake.
The press of heat and muscle made the blood pound in her clit.
She stepped away, and her back touched the door.
Chase pressed her mouth to Lily’s ear. “Lily, lock the door.”
“No,” Lily gasped.
Chase groaned and dropped her forehead against Lily’s. “This is killing me.”
Lily closed her eyes and took a long, long breath. “Me too.”
Chase shuddered, and Lily nearly gave in. She brushed the sweat-damp hair from the nape of Chase’s neck and stroked her tense jaw. “This is crazy, you know that, right?”
Chase leaned away, her eyes dark oceans of blue. “I can’t seem to stop.”
“Mmm, but you do.” Lily kissed her, just long enough to satisfy the ache to touch her. “And that makes me want more.”
“I’m not gonna be able to think about anything except you all day,” Chase said.
“Good.” Lily kissed Chase’s throat and licked lightly at the curve of her jaw. “I love your body.”
“I really need to touch you,” Chase whispered.
“What I need,” Lily said with supreme effort, her voice shaking as she gently disentangled herself from Chase’s arms, “is to look at your shoulder.”
Chase eased away until a fraction of distance separated them, and clasped Lily’s hips. Her eyes glinted as she leaned close, her mouth brushing Lily’s. “What else do you need, Lily? Just tell me. Tell me so I can give it to you.”
Damn her, but Chase’s words made Lily nearly melt. That had never happened before.
“You know what I want,” Lily said. “Another day when we don’t have to stop.”
Chase kissed her, swift and hard. “Then you kiss me first next time, and then I’ll know I won’t have to stop.”
“When I don’t want you to stop,” Lily murmured, “I’ll make very sure you know.”