Colder Than Ice (40 page)

Michela
released Allison, and walked to the gate before she realized Allison wasn’t
beside her. She turned and gave Allison a questioning look.

Allison
walked to her and entwined their fingers. “I don’t think you understand. I
love you and if people can’t deal with that then that’s their problem. I don’t
intend to make the same mistake twice.”

Michela
raised their hands to her lips and gently kissed the entwined fingers. She
closed the gate and they walked down the hill, hand-in-hand, to the house. As
they slipped through the patio glass door, they were surprised to find the room
empty. Now, only a single light illuminated the room.

Looking
at her watch, Allison chuckled. “It seems we’ve been out there for quite a
while. I hope we haven’t offended Charlotte. She’s such a generous woman.”

Michela
shook her head. “I don’t think we did. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is
what she’d planned all along. Something I must thank her for tomorrow morning.
I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready for bed myself.”

Allison
nodded and they walked up the stairs. Michela paused at the top and turned to
Allison. “Which one’s your room?”

“What
does it matter which one is my room? As far as I’m concerned the question is
which one is yours?” Allison hugged Michela and gazed into her eyes.
“I don’t want to be separated from you again. Let me stay with you,
please.”

Smiling,
Michela took Allison’s hand and led her to her door.

As
Michela reached for the handle, Allison stifled a gasp.

“What’s
the matter?” Michela asked.

Allison
looked around the corridor as if to get her bearings. “Did Charlotte tell
you about this room?”

“No.
She has an uncanny knack of offering only as much information as she deems
necessary. What’s the problem?”

“This
is their room—Elizabeth and Charlotte’s. She told me this afternoon when she
showed me to my room. I wondered whether it was used any more and she said only
for select guests. I have to say I was a little disappointed not to have been
given the room to sleep in.” Allison chuckled. “I’m beginning to
believe this romantic conspiracy theory of yours regarding Ms. Finlayson is
true.”

Michela
opened the door, revealing a soft glow cast by a single lamp. She took
Allison’s hand, led her through the door, and closed it behind her. She left
Allison in the centre of the room, removed her jacket, and hung it on a chair.
She quietly walked around the room lighting enough lamps to create a muted glow.

Allison’s
eyes misted as she gazed around the room. It looked as if a moment from the
past had been captured. Adorning one wall was a large unlit fireplace with a
portrait of Charlotte and Elizabeth and their son Robert. Along another wall
were matching mahogany dressers and a mirror that reflected the soft glow of
the lamps. Opposite the fireplace was an old four-poster bed, its worn,
multicolored quilt an obvious heirloom. The final wall had two sets of French
windows that looked out into the inky black of the night.

Allison
walked across the carpeted floor to the windows and paused, staring at her full
reflection in the glass. She watched as the lightning came closer, momentarily
lighting up the room in brief intense flashes.

Allison
watched Michela’s reflection as she walked to her. Michela wrapped her arms
around her from behind, encasing the smaller hands with her own.

They
stood, each caught up in the feeling of reconciliation, of comfort, of finally
coming home. Allison snuggled closer and Michela brushed the nape of her neck
with butterfly-soft touches. Allison arched her neck in response.

Afraid
of rushing the moment, Michela broke off her trail of kisses, and gazed,
contented, at Allison’s reflection.

While
she watched Michela, Allison encased Michela’s hands with her own. She raised
them to her mouth, softly kissed them, and guided them to the top satin button
of her blouse. Michela unbuttoned the button and Allison lowered her hand to
the next one, and then the next. Allison put Michela’s hands on the sides of
the blouse and together they slowly pulled it from her pants.

Michela
gazed at Allison’s body reflected in the glass, her sculpted skin accentuated
by her rapid breathing, her breasts held within the sleek confines of a bronze
satin bra.

Allison
guided Michela’s hands to her breasts and dropped her hands to her side. She
gasped as Michela ever so lightly caressed her nipples.

Michela’s
breath caught at Allison’s reaction to her delicate touch. She traced a sensual
line on the material and unclasped the front of the bra. She peeled the fabric
back and cupped her hands around the soft breasts.

Gasping
at the contact, Allison half-turned, snaked an arm around Michela’s neck, and
brought Michela’s head down to her eager lips. Continuing the kiss, she turned
fully to face Michela and moaned as her flesh pressed against Michela’s silk
shirt.

As
the kiss deepened, Allison unbuttoned Michela’s blouse, circled her arms around
Michela’s waist under the loose shirt and undid the bra. Allison placed feather-light
kisses on the hollow of Michela’s throat and down a path between her breasts.
She broke the kiss and smiled at the passion reflected back at her in Michela’s
eyes. Lightning again illuminated the room and their flushed faces. Allison
softly traced the curve of Michela’s lips and returned her hand to Michela’s
chest. “Make love to me, please.”

Michela
led Allison to the bed and they quietly, almost reverently, undressed each
other, their shadows cast on the walls in the low light.

Michela
was surprised as Allison took her hand and motioned her to lie down. Allison
stretched out on her side next to her as lightning strobed the room,
temporarily lighting their bodies.

Allison
traced a sensual line across Michela’s flesh, pleased at the reaction. She lightly
grazed the hair at the apex of Michela’s thighs and ran her fingers upward,
pausing to softly stroke Michela’s tender pebbled flesh. She captured Michela’s
lips.

Unable
to control her rising passion any longer, Michela pulled Allison to her, ran
her hands down Allison’s back, and softly mapped the crease where silky curve
met with thigh. Feeling the warmth there, Michela moaned with pleasure as she
placed a leg on either side of Allison’s.

Allison
searched Michela’s face as she slowly moved against the sensuous friction of
Michela’s legs. “There were so many nights when I went to sleep, thinking
of you, of us, together again like this, only to wake in the morning and
realize it was only a dream. It’s almost hard for me to believe we’re together like
this now.”

Michela
lightly kissed Allison’s nose. “Trust me, I’m real and I don’t intend to
go anywhere or allow you out of my sight for quite a while.” Smiling, she
pulled Allison into her arms.

AN
INSISTENT KNOCKING on her door interrupted Michela’s peaceful slumber. Her eyes
widened as the door’s knob turned. She quickly pulled the sheets up to cover
herself and more importantly, Allison, who was slowly waking.

“Hi,
sis. That was some party last night. I can’t believe the number of eligible
millionaires that were squeezed into one room. There was one lovely gentleman
who followed me around the whole evening. Hmm, such a nice man.” She
walked across the softly shadowed room and looked out the almost floor to
ceiling window. “But that’s not the most amazing news. It seems your
friend the archaeologist’s in town, so my gentlemen friend said. So what do you
intend to do about that? I think we should try and track down exactly where she
is.” She turned to the bed and after a shocked moment, her eyes hardened.
“After all these months, you better be telling me there’s no one else in
that bed except who I think should be there. Because if it’s anyone else, so
help me, I’m going to give you a bigger beating than the one I gave you when
you put laxatives in my brownies when you were thirteen.”

Michela
slightly raised the sheet and Allison nodded. Michela pulled back the bed sheet
enough to reveal Allison’s head. “Your timing is impeccable as always. Let
me introduce Dr. Allison Shaunessy.”

“Hi,”
Allison said, sounding embarrassed.

Christine
blushed and went to the bed and shook Allison’s hand. “Thank
God
you
turned up. I thought this one,” she motioned at Michela, “was about
to join a damn convent. She’s been like a bear with a sore head since arriving
home. In fact, she tends to get like that quite a lot.” She sat down on
the bed. “I can remember a time…”

Michela
gave her a warning look. “Do you think we could discuss this later?”
She motioned with her head toward the door.

“Oh,
of course. You
do
intend to make it down to breakfast, don’t you?”
Christine stood and smiled. “Don’t be long or it’ll be lunch before you
get down there.” She hurried out the door.

Michela
slumped down. She turned and brushed the ever-errant fringe out of Allison’s
eyes. “That about seals it. I hope you don’t mind the whole world knowing
about us. Aside from being a magnet to men, my sister could put a telephone
company out of business. She should give up her calling as a surgeon and go
into the gossip business, full time.”

Allison
laughed at Michela’s frustration. “I told you last night and I’ll tell you
again, I don’t care who she tells. I’m happy with things as they are.” She
pulled Michela to her and they rekindled the passion of the night before.

ALTHOUGH
THEY DIDN’T quite manage to make breakfast, Allison and Michela joined
Christine for lunch, surprised by Charlotte’s presence. After proper
introductions, Christine and Allison took the time to begin to know each other.

After
lunch, while Christine took at walk, Allison and Michela retired to the
library.

Michela
opened the heavy velvet burgundy brocade curtains that held the room in
darkness. “Have you done a full tour of the house yet?”

Allison
shook her head. “I think Ella started to last night, but Charlotte stopped
her, saying there’d be more than ample opportunity to do that in the next few
days.”

Michela
chuckled. “I’ve had the long and the short tour and believe me, when you
get the time we won’t see you for days. It seems Elizabeth was the first in a
long line of explorers. A lot of the rooms hold the different collections from
expeditions. This library holds the first part of the memorabilia of
Elizabeth’s expeditions.”

Allison
went from object to object. Like a child in a candy store, she lingered over
and savored every little artifact.

Michela
watched Allison and was pleased at the excitement radiating in her face.

Allison
turned to Michela and smiled. “These are amazing. It’s as if there’s a
little bit of every expedition she ever went on.” She held up to the
afternoon light the intricate carving of a dragon—her hands bathed in the warm
green of the delicate object. “This jade sculpture is exquisite.”

Michela
nodded. “By what’s contained in this room alone, she must have spent a
great deal of time traveling. From what the modern-day Charlotte has said, her
Great Grandmother Charlotte spent her a lot of time separated from the intrepid
explorer.”

Allison
carefully returned the jade object to its resting-place. She went to Michela,
hugged her, and looked up into her eyes. “So, where do we go from
here?”

Michela
shrugged. “My tenure is about up with the Institute and so I’m just about
free to do what I want. As far as I’m concerned, I’m happy to be wherever you
are.”

Allison
gave Michela a quizzical look. “I thought last night you said there was a
lot more to be done with the Mars expedition, not to mention the other projects
you had in train. Also, from what you mentioned in Antarctica, I thought there
was enough work to keep you entrenched there for years.”

“It’s
work that can be easily done by anyone. The hard part, establishing the
projects, is finished. I’m sure someone else can take over. I’m more happy to
be where you are than—”

Allison
released Michela and stepped back. “I can’t ask you to give up your career
to follow me. You’re a professional with a hell of a lot to offer. You should
stay here and see your projects through. It wouldn’t be fair for me to expect
anything else.”

“Are
you saying you’d rather I stay here than be with you?” Michela asked.
“Is that what you want?”

Allison
pushed down her growing anger. “That’s not what I said at all and you know
it.” Michela walked to the window. “Oh, for God’s sake, Michela, be
sensible about this.”

Michela
wheeled. “Be sensible? Me be sensible? You’re the one who’s talking about
being on one side of the world while I’m here.”

The
door opened, and Charlotte stood in the doorway, a concerned look on her face.

“What’s
going on in here?” Charlotte demanded. “I can hear you half the way
down the hall.”

Allison
pointed at Michela. “She won’t see the sense in remaining in a good
job.”

Michela
pointed at Allison. “And she doesn’t see the logic in me moving to
Australia to be with her.”