Dev’s voice cracked, and she swallowed hard. “I can’t. Not now.” She edged
away on the seat but it wasn’t far enough. Two hundred miles hadn’t been far
enough to stop wanting her. Two thousand wouldn’t be.
“I’ll need to pass on dinner.”
“Hilton,” the cabbie grunted as he rocketed the cab into the turnaround and
slammed to a halt.
Leslie ignored him, her eyes on Dev. “I’m coming up with you.
We’ll just talk. Please, Dev.”
Leslie was hurting, Dev could hear it. And she thought if she had to watch the
cab drive away with Leslie inside, she’d end up howling like an animal with its
leg caught in a trap. She couldn’t let her go and she couldn’t be near her without
dying by inches. But given the choice between two miseries, she’d choose the
one thing she’d always craved.
Leslie.
Wordlessly, Dev nodded and got out of the cab. While Leslie paid the
cabdriver, Dev walked around and opened Leslie’s door, then extended her
hand. Leslie’s ? ngers closed around hers, and the charge of ? esh on ? esh
almost rocked her back on her heels.
How could she say no? She could more easily stop her own heart from beating.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Dev glanced over her shoulder impatiently while the hotel receptionist ran her
credit card and programmed her room key. Leslie was still there, waiting in the
lounge area adjacent to the front desk. Leslie seemed perfectly composed,
sitting with her shapely legs crossed, one arm resting along the curved edge of
the upholstered armchair, upper body angled so that she faced in Dev’s
direction. Dev was anything but composed. She needed something to settle her
down—
a cigarette, a drink, something—but she didn’t smoke and rarely drank more
than a glass or two of wine and the something that she needed was Leslie. God,
she needed her.
“Here you are,” the receptionist said with a smile. “Enjoy your stay, Dr.
Weber.”
“Thanks,” Dev said, waving off the bellman as she stuffed the paperwork into
her jacket pocket. With the plastic key card in one hand and her overnighter in
the other, she strode over to Leslie. “All set. I can take my things upstairs and
be down in ? ve minutes if you want to wait here. We can go out to dinner right
away, if you’re hungry.”
Leslie stood, shaking her head. She slid the key card from Dev’s hand and
slipped her palm into its place. “Let’s go upstairs.”
“Okay.”
It was a mistake, Dev knew it. But she couldn’t imagine sitting across from
Leslie in a restaurant, pretending she was hungry or trying to make casual
conversation. At least in her hotel room she would be spared the social charade.
They rode upstairs to the tenth ? oor in silence, their shoulders touching as they
made room for other guests. Leslie kept her hand in Dev’s the entire ride, their
? ngers loosely entwined.
Dev found the room, set her luggage down, and held out her hand for the key
card Leslie still carried. “Okay?”
“Yes. Very,” Leslie murmured, thinking that if Dev didn’t open the door and get
them inside soon, she wouldn’t be responsible for what happened out in the hall.
Dev looked so worried, so unsure, and Leslie hated to see her that way. It was
her fault, she knew it. Dev had always been there for her, always clear about
what she felt, always waiting for Leslie to understand. And now Dev didn’t trust
her.
Leslie was struck with a sudden stab of fear that maybe Dev had ? nally
stopped waiting and moved on. Maybe her reluctance in the cab hadn’t been
because she didn’t trust Leslie’s feelings, but because she was no longer
available. Leslie panicked, unable to imagine what she would do if she lost Dev
now. “Hurry, Dev.”
Surprised by the urgency in Leslie’s voice, Dev sliced the card through the lock
slot, cranked the handle, and shoved the door open with her shoulder. She
kicked her overnighter into the room while holding the door for Leslie to enter.
She ? ipped the wall switch just inside the door, lighting a small bedside lamp
that suffused the room with muted light. The heavy ? oral drapes on the window
were closed.
Besides the king-size bed and entertainment console opposite it, there was a
small sitting area with a sofa, coffee table, and desk.
Dev took it all in at a glance as the door swung closed behind her, leaving her to
face Leslie, who waited a few feet away. Leslie took one step toward her, the
expression on her face one that Dev had never seen before. Her lips, shining and
moist with pale gloss, were slightly parted and curved tenderly at each corner.
Her blue eyes, shimmering like lake water in the sunlight, were ? xed intently on
Dev’s. A rush of heat swept through Dev so quickly she caught her breath and
backed up a step, as if she could escape. Her back hit the door and she lifted
her hands, palms up, helplessly.
“Don’t, Les.”
“Why not?” Leslie murmured, running a ? ngertip along the edge of Dev’s
jacket.
“I can’t take it,” Dev whispered. “I miss you so much, and I want you so
badly.”
Leslie slipped both hands beneath Dev’s jacket and traced the ridges of Dev’s
collarbones, leaning her lower body lightly into Dev.
Dev’s body was rigid, but still Leslie sensed the barely restrained
hunger, and she wanted it. God, how she wanted Dev to still want her in the
delirious, boundless way she had before. She wanted it like nothing else in her
life. “I miss you too. Terribly. Kiss me, Dev. Please.”
“You’ll break me,” Dev warned hoarsely. “If I kiss you, I won’t stop. Not this
time. I can’t.”
“I don’t want you to stop.” Leslie caressed one hand up the side of Dev’s neck
and behind her head, curling her ? ngers into Dev’s hair.
She pulled slowly, easing Dev’s head back as she pressed her lips to Dev’s
throat. “I don’t want you to stop until you’re inside of me where you belong.”
Dev made a sound that was part groan, part sob, her hands ? at against the
door, ? ngers ? exed against the metal. If she let go, if she touched her, she was
afraid of what she might do. She wanted her, had wanted her since she was old
enough to recognize her desire for a woman. And all the years of denial had
