Willow Page 5

  “I take it you are happy to see us,” she said, a smile in her voice. Kat’s only answer was a moan as she was overwhelmed with sensation, Willow’s taste on her lips, the soft pressure of Judy’s fingers.

  “What do you think?” Kat gasped as one of those fingers slid into her wetness, her body clenching in reaction. She was trembling when the welcome sensation disappeared. The two women gently steered her to the bed, where they made her lie down and undressed her. She could barely watch, almost afraid this could be a dream she’d be waking from any moment. A dream definitely worth throwing all her principles overboard for. Willow was to her side, nearly on top of her, caressing a hardened nipple with lips and tongue. Judy’s hand was back between her thighs, each intimate caress leaving Kat no choice as she gave in to the intensity of a fantasy turned real. She still wasn’t sure whether or not she and Willow had a chance out in the real world, but tonight, it didn’t matter. Willow was hers. Judy apparently didn’t mind. It was all she needed to know tonight. The bed dipped slightly, Willow moving up to kiss her again. Kat held on to her, fascinated and aroused beyond her imagination. Whatever labels and complications separated them in the daily life, their bodies fit together. They fit together. Her thighs were parted even wider, and she whimpered at the brush of a tongue against her clit, the heat rising exponentially.

  “It’s all right,” Willow whispered against her lips. “Let yourself feel all of it. You are so beautiful.” Another deep, hungry kiss, and Kat tumbled over the edge, holding on to Willow as she shuddered. Judy kept a firm grip on her hips, not releasing her until the last after echoes of Kat’s orgasm had subsided. She lay there, still somewhat stunned, trying to figure out what just happened.

  Judy licked her lips. “That was a great start, don’t you think?” Kat wasn’t sure if it was the suggestion, or Willow’s smile that caused the hot liquid jolt at her core. This wasn’t over yet. The thought filled her with immense relief—after all, it would be cruel to end their shared intimacy after giving her just a taste of it, wouldn’t it?

  She reached up to trace Willow’s lips with her finger, which prompted Willow to suck said finger into her mouth, the slightly obscene gesture enough to wake Kat’s body once more. She drew a sharp breath. “What do you want?”

  “Tonight? For you to experience everything you thought wouldn’t be possible. I can wait a little. Like Judy said…This is all about you.”

  An unexpected wave of emotion came over her. It wasn’t hard to identify the reason—in her adult life, this was a first.

  “Okay then. I must admit I only know in theory how this works…” She laughed, self-conscious, as another possible interpretation of her words came to mind. “A threesome, I mean. I haven’t…”

  “Don’t worry.” With her cheeks flushed and her hair tousled, Willow looked ridiculously beautiful. She didn’t have the air of a woman who didn’t know what she was looking for, or wanted. “You can leave it all up to me.”

  Kat did, and all of a sudden, there was no more room for doubts or shame, or questioning anyone’s motives including her own. Judy pinned her wrists above her head, and Kat let her, giving Willow free reign over her willing body. Willow’s fingers went deep into her, their slow glide soon directing her towards another hot, intense climax. Willow didn’t give her much time to catch her breath, the tender touch now something between tease and torture. Kat was pretty sure she had given it all she could.

  “This was…amazing,” she breathed. “But I can’t…oh.” She closed her eyes, the sensations intensifying immediately as she felt the soft smooth material of the vibrator, gliding over the most sensitive areas of her body.

  “You can. I know you can.”

  It felt unreal, but Willow was nevertheless right.

  * * * *

  Kat woke from a good night’s sleep of the kind she hadn’t had in years, warm, rested, with Willow wrapped around her. Judy was gone, Willow still sound asleep, which gave her a moment to reflect on the past hours.

  It had been so suspiciously easy. Nothing in her life was ever this easy, but here she was, with the woman she’d lusted after for days, whom she had forbidden herself because of Willow’s choices in the past, and her own issues.

  She couldn’t go down that road again. She couldn’t undo what happened either. Maybe closing herself off from possibilities had only hurt her, not Crystal who was still with the same man, the occasional woman on the side. Going into a situation without being able to predict the outcome was scary.

  She had to take that chance or back out now—Kat didn’t want to leave. She was perfectly comfortable where she was. If they made that decision, there wasn’t much Franklin could do about it. After all, he had a lot to answer for too.

  “Good morning.”

  “It definitely is,” Kat confirmed.

  Willow tightened her arms around her. “And since we both know redesigning the backyard was mostly Dad’s scheme to have someone watch over me, we can finally sleep in.”

  “I don’t mind, though…there’s something else we could do besides sleep. Last night…I loved every moment of it, but I think I owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me,” Willow said. “That being said…whatever you’d like to do, I’m game.”

  “Whatever?” Kat couldn’t help the chuckle. “That’s a dangerous thing to say. You don’t know that much about me.”

  “Enough to know that I trust you.”

  Kat wanted nothing but to be worthy of that trust, so she took her time, exploring Willow’s body with slow gentle moves as she kissed her. Being this close, with Willow soon starting to squirm underneath her, any residual fatigue from last night’s session vanished quickly. Distantly, she wondered how much Willow knew about Judy’s past employment, and if there would ever be a good moment to tell her about why she was really here, but then those musings lost meaning too.

  Willow’s body welcomed her, fingers gliding into her easily. Kat kept a steady rhythm, brushing her thumb over Willow’s clit, every reaction causing a deep pleasant twinge within herself. She was falling, there was no doubt about it, but she loved it too much. Willow cried out, surrendering to the inevitable, and Kat focused all of her attention on the feel of muscles tightening around her fingers.

  “That’s it, baby.” Each of her movements was designed to enhance the moment, and Willow was beautifully responsive to every minute brush of fingertips.

  Lying beside her, holding her trembling body close, Kat realized she might have been mistaken all along.

  It didn’t matter into how much trouble this could get her. Willow was perfect, everything she needed at this point in her life—consequences be damned.

  * * * *

  “I want to show you something,” Willow said before they went downstairs for breakfast. Kat would have liked to check her emails, but she imagined that could wait.

  “Sure.”

  Willow led her to another part of the house Kat had only seen briefly when Franklin showed her around. To her surprise, Willow unlocked a small—for the premises, anyway—office/library to her.

  “I thought that you should know what I’m doing with most of my nights. Dad might have given you the wrong impression here…but this is sensitive material, and I didn’t want to share it with anyone before it’s all done.”

  Kat remembered Judy’s cryptic words.

  “Why didn’t you tell him that you were working on something?”

  Willow shrugged. “He’s got his secrets, I’ve got mine. We’re protecting each other. This project is almost finished, and there are orders for this particular alarm system from government officials. This is a big deal, so I don’t really mind people thinking I’m lazy in the meantime.”

  “Franklin doesn’t think you’re lazy.” Kat thought of Judy’s revelations, the lies and smokescreens. She would definitely stay here until he came back, get some real answers.

  “Yeah, maybe he found a nicer way to put it. I’ll tell him eventually…but I wanted you to kno
w.”

  “Thank you…though you really don’t have to prove anything to me.”

  “Don’t I? I wanted you to know that I’m not lacking direction, just because I was still married earlier last year.”

  “I never said…”

  Willow’s look was enough to silence her. “Okay, maybe I thought that. You are so much more than I expected, so…if you could give me a bit of time to catch up?”

  “That I can do.” Willow leaned into her, wrapping her arms around her. “Now, before we get to any more difficult subjects, I need to eat. Do you realize my knees are still shaky?”

  Kat couldn’t help giving her a smug smile in return.

  “I didn’t expect anything else.”

  Chapter Seven

  Kat allowed herself a slow morning, going over the progress, taking notes about materials she’d need to finish the fire pit. She was in for a surprise when she returned to the house before noon—Willow had a visitor, drinking coffee in the den. She hadn’t offered her ex-husband any. Kat had recognized Simon right away from the pictures.

  Willow had said they didn’t keep in touch. She wondered what the reason for his visit was.

  “If you’ll excuse us, Ma’am, this is private,” he said.

  Oops. She had lingered a little too long.

  “It’s okay, Kat. Simon was just about to leave, and, anyway, you can tell me in front of her. It’s not like it’s a big secret.”

  He cast Kat a quick calculating look. “Well, I disagree, honey. If we can’t have any privacy here, why don’t you let me take you out sometime soon?”

  “Because I’m not interested, business- or otherwise? How many times do I have to tell you? And while we’re at it, don’t come around anymore. I’m not changing my mind.”

  “As you wish. Enjoy your day, ladies.”

  Maybe it was Kat’s imagination, and it was understandable she felt suspicious and a little possessive after last night, but it sounded like a challenge to her. Did he know Willow dated women?

  “What did he want?” she asked after they heard the front door fall shut.

  “Hell if I know. He calls me out of the blue, says that he’ll drop by and is on my doorstep twenty minutes later. I don’t know. I can’t imagine he feels lonely, there are always women around. Now he makes up something about wanting to hire me…I’m busy, as you know, but even if that wasn’t the case I’d think very carefully about this. I don’t need that negativity in my life.”

  “If you feel at all threatened, you tell me, okay? I’ll take care of him.”

  “Yeah, I know, it’s your job. I’m aware.”

  “It’s more than that.” Kat hoped she made herself clear. Willow nodded.

  “All right. Let’s forget about him. I do have some work to do though since someone stole my night hours…” Her smile told Kat that she wasn’t the only one reminiscing about what exactly they’d done in those hours. The instant warm rush to certain areas reminded her she had a lot to catch up to after those long celibate months.

  “Okay,” she said, clearing her throat. “I’ll get back out there. You know where to find me.”

  “Oh, I’ll definitely find you.” Willow got up and came to stand in front of her. The kiss was instant, passionate, deep. A moment longer, and they’d both forget about work altogether. “Can I take you out tonight?”

  Kat was still lost in a haze of lust and imagination. “Whatever you want to do with me tonight is fine.” The last time she’d made big promises like this, she’d paid dearly. There would have to come a time when she’d restore the balance, but not right now. At this moment, everything was as perfect as it could be. Except maybe…

  “What about Judy? What does it all mean for her?”

  “We haven’t lied to you,” Willow said instantly. “When I met you I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to convince you.”

  “So you enlisted help?”

  “It worked, didn’t it? I like women. I like you in particular. Anything to get you to believe that. I can assure you, Judy is fine with everything. Hey, she got to share the bed with the two of us.”

  Kat couldn’t help laughing. “Yeah, that’s something to be grateful for. It’s the strangest logic I’ve ever heard, but hell yes, it did work. Now I really need to get to work before either of us gets other ideas.”

  “No problem. I’ll see you later. I’ve got lots of ideas,” Willow said when she was already by the door. Shaking her head with a smile, body and mind filled with happy anticipation, Kat headed outside. She changed her mind, turned and went upstairs into her office.

  She had a new email.

  How much exactly are you involved with this guy? He by himself isn’t much of a big deal, but he recently go involved with some shady folks, owes them money. You can see him getting a little desperate.

  This was not what Kat wanted to hear. She had hoped Simon would turn out to be nothing but a nuisance from the past, but his urgent visit had to mean something. Maybe he wanted money from Willow—maybe he’d try again. From now on, she’d be a real shadow, make sure he didn’t get near her again. It might be a good idea to issue a small warning, to make him see Willow wasn’t the one who’d solve his problems.

  She also called Gabby to make sure everything was okay at the store and office. This was mostly a stalling tactic.

  “We’re doing fine,” Gabby said. “The Grattons changed their mind and want that big rose garden now, complete with figurines and everything. I’ve made some orders.”

  “That’s great, thank you.”

  “How is life with the rich and famous?” Gabby asked curiously. “Are you bored out of your mind?”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m getting used to it,” she joked.

  “You still plan on coming back eventually, right?”

  “Of course.” Whatever this was between her and Willow, and whatever it would lead to, the business had saved her sanity. She wasn’t going to give it up, especially now that she had employees to take care of. Not even if Franklin’s check would enable her to do so…there were too many unsolved questions attached to this money.

  “Gabby, I have to go. Let me know if there are any problems.”

  Next, she called a number on a secure line.

  “Hey. I’m a little busy right now, but I can tell you nothing changed as to the threat level. I’d keep my eye on the ex…”

  “That’s not what I’m calling about. I need you to look up something for me, a mission report. See if there’s been anything added or removed.”

  “Sure, piece of cake.”

  Kat ignored the sarcasm. “Send it at the usual email, okay?”

  “Will do, Ma’am. What mission?”

  “The one I nearly died in, when Garrett moved in at the very last moment.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line.

  “Can you do that or not?”

  “Sure I can. Could I ask you why I’m doing this? Didn’t you read the report at the time?”

  Kat shuddered at the memory of the hospital room. It had been cold. After her return, she’d never wanted to leave her home again. She had a few appointments with the local office where she added her statement and asked for her discharge. Franklin had helped her with that, argued that with everything she’d given the job, they couldn’t tell her no.

  Come to think of it, she must have been pretty high on painkillers still, or maybe post-traumatic stress, to let it go so easily. Franklin didn’t have any more authority with these people than she had. Okay, maybe a little, because he helped finance some of the missions with his private wealth, but he had been very eager to help her get out. Because he wanted to be a friend, or because he didn’t want her to find out what really happened?

  “I was out for a while, and when I came back here, all they needed was for me to add my statement. I left, so that’s what we’re at. I never saw the full report, but I really want to now.”

  “You don’t suspect Franklin Garrett of any wrongdoing?”
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  “I don’t know. Didn’t you say you were busy?”

  “Okay, okay, I’ll get on it. Keep your head down, and if you don’t mind a word of advice, also keep your hands off Franklin’s daughter.”

  Unfortunately, one time Kat had gotten drunk with her source. Certain subjects came up. If she was monitoring the situation, it didn’t take much to deduce that living under one roof with Willow presented temptation. Crystal had been friendly with her source too. It was hard to keep many secrets in such close proximity.

  “None of your business. Now get to work.”

  “Wait…don’t you want to know…?”

  “Send me whatever you think I need to know,” Kat said after a small pause.

  Even with the premise changing drastically, she couldn’t forget that she still had a job to do, one that didn’t involve planting trees.

  * * * *

  Miraculously, they had managed to keep out of each other’s way during the day. When Kat came out of the shower, Willow was sitting on her bed in a red dress, ready to go out. Kat, wearing nothing but a towel, stood frozen for a moment. The effect Willow had on her was incredible, and judging from the knowing smile, she was well aware of it.

  “Are you getting dressed?” she asked, tugging at the edge of the towel.

  “That was the plan, yes, unless you don’t want me to…Are we going to lose our reservation?” She was certain that if Willow touched her right now, it wouldn’t be long. While Willow looked ready to go, her clothing was…accessible. She would just have to push up that skirt and…

  “Yes, probably, so you should get going. A little anticipation won’t harm, don’t you think?” She lowered her voice to a warm whisper. “I want you right now, but it’s going to be even better later. I promise.”

  “Oh, I have no doubts,” Kat said, aware that her voice had been rising a notch. She let the towel drop, because two could play that game and it was only fair. “What kind of restaurant is it?” she asked, choosing a bra and panties from the drawer, smiling at Willow’s gasp. “I don’t want to be the one person everyone knows doesn’t belong there.”