"You don"t seriously think those goons"ll try to find us, do you?" Kerry asked. "I mean, for running them aground. They were chasing us, Dar."
"I don"t know." Dar sliced off a bit of her filet and ate it. "Let me get back to you after I have a chance to check out what Mark sent."
"Okay." Kerry went back to her dinner. She was a little surprised at how unworried she was about this new wrinkle. In fact, she felt more intrigued than frightened. Maybe she was turning into a little bit of a risk taker. She took in a forkful of the fish, enjoying the half-sweet, half-tangy taste, then washed the mouthful down with a long sip of wine. "Dar?"
"Hm?" Dar looked up from her task of decimating her lobster tail.
"You think this is dangerous?"
Dar paused, folded her hands, and rested her chin on them.
"Dangerous?" she asked. "I think we b.u.mped into some folks who are used to getting their own way."
"Mm." Kerry nodded.
"They shot flares at us last night," Dar went on seriously, "not bullets."
Ah. That is very, very true. "Shot them off the sides, too," Kerry realized. "So you think they"re overbearing, obnoxious bullies, but only willing to go so far to achieve their goals?"
"Exactly." Dar went back to her plate with a satisfied look.
"Unfortunately for them," she looked up from her dinner, "they"re up against an equally overbearing, obnoxious bully who won"t stop until she gets what she wants." She winked. "And I want a nice, peaceful vacation."
Kerry c.o.c.ked her head and thought about that. "I don"t think you"re overbearing and obnoxious, and you"re definitely not a bully," she finally stated positively. "But I do agree they"ve bitten off more than they can chew with us." She gave a brisk nod, then bit into a prawn and ruthlessly ripped it from its sh.e.l.l.
Dar merely chuckled and shook her head.
A SURPRISE WAS waiting for them when they got back to their room. Kerry warily eyed the basket of flowers and shot Dar a look.
"You"re the only person I"d welcome getting these from, but I"m guessing they"re not from you."*105 Dar regarded the floral intrusion. "No." She searched the arrangement for a card. "For one thing, I know what kind of flowers you like," she said. "Tulips not being among them. Ah." She plucked a small square of cardboard from amid the greenery and held it to her forehead as she closed her eyes in psychic concentration. "The answer is...Bob." She handed the card over without looking at it.
Kerry sighed, took the card and peeked at it. "Can we rent you out to the Psychic Hotline?"
Dar shook her head. "Ker, you"re just going to have to tell him straight out to back off, you"re taken," she advised wryly. "He"s one of those guys who can"t picture two women together and think anything other than "lunch.""
"Yeah, I know." Kerry laughed helplessly as she removed the basket to the table near the door and plopped down onto the bed. "I figured while we were docking the boat, my referring to you as my partner and saying this was our delayed honeymoon would have clued him in, but I guess not."
Dar slid down beside her and plucked the card from Kerry"s fingers, tossing it over her shoulder as she found something much more interesting to concentrate on. "Know what I like about these bawdy excuses for cut-up tablecloths?"
"Tch." Kerry smoothed her hand over Dar"s hip. "You look cute in it," she protested. "But no, what?"
Dar closed her teeth around one of the ties holding Kerry"s wrap closed and tugged on it, pulling it loose. "They come off easy." She peeled back one edge, exposing Kerry"s chest, then went for the lower tie. She pulled it slowly, her eyes tracking up Kerry"s body to meet her eyes. "See?"
Kerry felt Dar"s hair brush against her thighs as she undid the fastening and laid her body bare to the soft breeze coming in from the window. She eased up onto her elbows, watching Dar"s back arch as she prowled her way on up. "Sweetheart?" Kerry murmured.
"Yeees?" Dar rested her chin against Kerry"s navel.
"I would love to spend the next few hours being ravished by you, but don"t you think we should pick up Mark"s stuff first?"
Dar sighed, a rush of very warm air that caused goose b.u.mps to rise across Kerry"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "No," she growled softly. "But..." She slid all the way up Kerry"s body, bringing a rush of raw sensuality with her, then dipped her head to capture Kerry"s lips for a long moment. "I guess we have to."
As Dar lifted herself up and off the bed, Kerry regretted having said a word. She exhaled and rolled over, then stood and trotted after her taller partner as she went to the briefcase tucked between the dresser and the wall. She waited for Dar to unlock the top, then 106*
slid her arms around her partner and started playing with the strings on Dar"s shift as she pulled out the laptop and put it on the table.
Dar glanced over her shoulder. "Thought you wanted me to set this up."
"I"m helping." Kerry untangled a cable and plugged it in, still with her arms around Dar"s body.
"Ah." Dar booted the laptop and flipped up its cellular antenna. "Thought we weren"t bringing this."
"Yeah, I know." Kerry poked her head under Dar"s left arm, watching the screen. "But I figured if something catastrophic did happen, and the office needed us, we"d have to have this to do anything about it."
"Good thought."
"And if they called us for something stupid, we could toss it overboard and make Mark get you a new one in that snazzy blue color you like so much." Kerry found another string to tug on, and Dar"s shift fell as open as hers was. "Ooh... nice desktop."
"I could put this one on." Dar casually clicked a few keys and replaced her peaceful forest scene with one of Kerry on the beach.
Naked.
"EEEK!" Kerry slapped at the mouse pointer. "Get that outta there, Dar!"
"Heh." Dar relented and switched back to the forest. "You"re so cute." She started the laptop into its dial-up routine. "Now," she turned around and gathered Kerry into her arms, "before I was so rudely interrupted by logic, where was I?"
Kerry pressed her body against Dar"s. "Here, I think." She wound a hand around Dar"s neck and was about to kiss her when a knock sounded at the door. Kerry paused, looked at her partner, then at the door in visible outrage. "What the heck?"
"Hotel better be on fire," Dar muttered, then raised her voice.
"Yeah?"
There was a moment of silence, then a voice answered, "H...h.e.l.lo? I"m looking for Kerry?"
Kerry fell forward against Dar"s chest and shook her head.
"Bob."
"Bob," Dar repeated. "You stay here. I"m gonna bob Bob." Dar headed for the door with determined strides.
"Ah...bu...bu...Dar!" Kerry scuttled after her, grabbed hold of her loose shift, and pulled her to a halt. "Whoa!"
Dar turned, her eyebrows lifting in outraged question.
Kerry tied the shift closed. "Blind eunuchs have it tough in the job market, sweetie," she whispered. "Let me handle him, okay?"
She adjusted her own dress and slipped ahead of Dar, grasped the door handle, and turned it. "Yes?" She leaned on the jamb, opening*107 the door just wide enough to make eye contact.
"Kerry! Great, I found you." Bob beamed. "Can I come in?"
Kerry got her thoughts in order and a.s.sumed one of her more no-nonsense expressions. "Bob, it"s late. Is there something you need? We"re pretty tired." She tried not to hear the low, vibrant growl that was buzzing the air behind her.
"I was hoping we could talk," Bob explained shyly.
Okay, Ker, Dar"s right. Polite ain"t cutting it this time. "About what?" Kerry asked.
The hallway was empty, though Bob glanced to either side just to be certain. He put his hands in his pockets and managed an almost engaging expression. "Look, I know we barely know each other..."
"Grrooowwwwll!"
Kerry felt Dar move closer, and the heat of her body warmed Kerry"s back. "That"s right," she answered Bob. "We don"t."
"But I was thinking maybe we could see each other a few times, you know... I think you"re a really-"
"Bob." Kerry opened the door a little wider and straightened, holding both hands out in a stopping motion. "Hold it."
"No, I know you"re really modest, but I think-"
"Bob!" Kerry"s voice lifted.
He peered at her anxiously. "Yeah?"
"Thank you, but I have a significant other," Kerry stated firmly. "One that I"m very attached to."
"Rowwwrrrll." Dar"s growl turned to a purr.
Bob took a breath and gave her a determined look. "I figured you had a boyfriend, but I really think we can get to know each other better, after all-"
"Bob." Kerry sighed. "I don"t have a boyfriend." She spoke slowly, enunciating carefully, "I told you before-I have a partner."
His brows contracted in puzzlement. "A partner?"
Dar"s patience, never really extensive, snapped. She poked her head above Kerry"s as she raised a hand over Kerry"s shoulder.
"That would be me."
Bob looked from one of them to the other, his head c.o.c.king to one side in patent confusion.
Kerry turned and looked at Dar. "See what happens when you eat too much Wonder Bread?" she asked, then turned back. "Bob, Dar and I are lovers," she painstakingly clarified for him. "We"re gay. Am I making a connection here?"
Very slowly, comprehension dawned. "Oh," Bob finally murmured, turning a deep, brick red. "Sorry. I didn"t...um..."
Kerry felt a little sorry for him. "It"s okay."
"Okay, well then, have a good night. I"m sorry," Bob babbled, backing away. "Sorry." He escaped down the hallway, almost 108*
crashing into the corner in his haste to get out of sight.
"Mmph." Dar watched the last of him vanish and issued a satisfied grunt. "What an a.n.a.log mindset."
Kerry nudged her backwards and shut the door. "Aw, he"s not that bad. He meant well, Dar."
"No he didn"t," Dar objected. "Kerry, did you hear what he said after you told him you had an SO? He didn"t care! What a creep!"
Kerry chewed the inside of her lip. "Ew. Yeah," she admitted.
"That was pretty scuzzy."
Dar shook her head and ambled over to where the laptop had finished downloading. She picked it up and took it to the bed, then rid herself of her shift and settled on the covers, stretching her naked body out as she studied the screen. After a second, she glanced up over the LCD and crooked a finger at Kerry. "C"mere."
Kerry put thoughts of Bob and his scuzziness out of her mind, removed her own clothing, and joined Dar in bed, snuggling up next to her lover. "What did he send?"
"Look." Dar pointed. They read together in silence, tanned faces outlined in the light of the screen.
Chapter.
Eleven.
THE NEXT MORNING, Kerry woke up first for a change. She let her eyes drift open as the sunlight poured in the slatted windows and made stripes across the bed. For a few minutes, she just lay there in a lazy half doze, watching Dar"s chest move rhythmically. The sun made the soft, fine hairs on Dar"s torso glisten, and Kerry rubbed her thumb over a few of them as she pondered the information they"d obtained the night before.
She"d expected...well, to be honest, she hadn"t really had any idea what to expect. Maybe that the big black boat and the little white wiener following it were international jewel thieves, or something. Instead, what they"d discovered was that the boat was owned by a wealthy broker of art and collectables who was known for his aggressive acquisition and auction of just about anything he could get his hands on that was worth good money. Nothing illegal about that.
Kerry nuzzled Dar"s shoulder, and her nostrils picked up faint traces of coconut from the tanning oil she"d spread all over Dar the day before. But they"d read some clips about how the man had forced his way into excavations and bought up rights for salvage, often taking valuable goods out from under the eyes of the original, and sometimes rightful, owners.
John DeSalliers. Not a nice guy. But that wasn"t illegal, either.
What Kerry couldn"t figure out was why they"d been so set on chasing after her and Dar. After all, if they could get this information on who was registered to that boat, it was just as easy for the black boat to get the same information about Dar.
"I just don"t get it." Kerry sighed. All they"d done was dive on a decrepit wreck. Surely they didn"t think there was anything valuable on an old fishing vessel, did they? Why bother? It didn"t make sense.
Their friends Christen and Juan turned out to be registered private detectives, apparently on a hefty retainer from DeSalliers.
They were both very well off, and Christen was purportedly quite the wild woman of the world, if you believed the society gossip clips Mark had pulled off of G.o.d-only-knew-where.
110*
But... Kerry kept coming back to the same question: why bother her and Dar? If they were looking for something, why take the time out to tangle with a pair of IT execs out on vacation? It just didn"t make sense.
Dar"s voice interrupted her musing. "Whatcha frowning about?"