Melt (33 page)

“What are you doing hiding behind the house?” she demanded in an emphatic whisper.

“This is where I always go to smoke. Can’t smoke inside and there’s a nice view of the bay from here.” He smiled benignly. “Want a cigar? I remember you like this Nicaraguan brand.”

“No, thank you.” His manner bewildered her, but it wasn’t out of character. Chuck was supremely even-keeled. Perhaps even more than she was.

“It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?” he said.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m doing sneaking around outside your house?”

“Nope.” He took another puff. “A nice cigar before bed really hits the spot for me. You know another thing that hits the spot? A shot or two of vodka. Puts me right to sleep.”

What the hell? Jordan thought, frustrated. Are we just going to stand here all night chatting about cigars and booze? And how in the world was she going to carry out her plan now? There was no way she could crawl through Kelly’s window with Chuck standing here watching.

“Vodka has the same effect on Elsa,” he said nonchalantly. “Two shots and she’s out for the night. Nope, nothing’s going to wake her up when she’s had a nip of vodka.” He gave Jordan a wry smile. “That’s put me in a mind to have a drink. Yep, just the thing.” He knocked the ash off his cigar. “I think I’ll ask the old gal to join me. Good night, Jordan.”

He stepped past her, then paused and said, “By the way, it’s the third window down.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Kelly closed the bedroom door with a barely audible click and shrugged off her robe. She hung it on a hook on the door, then slipped back into bed beside Jordan, who welcomed her with a warm embrace and an eager, lingering kiss.

“I listened at Mrs. Arensen’s door,” Kelly said quietly. “She’s sound asleep, snoring like a bear. Hasn’t heard a thing.”

“Chuck got her tipsy,” Jordan said. “That was decent of him.”

“He’s a good guy.” Kelly pulled herself close up against Jordan’s body, enjoying the soft, warm silkiness of her skin.

She was euphoric. It seemed she had waited all her life for this, for Jordan. She had longed for it, dreamed of it, never expecting it to become reality. But here she was, not only occupying her bed, but opening her heart with more honesty than either of them could have predicted. Jordan, too, had waited a lifetime for this, whether she would ever admit it or not. Kelly didn’t need any more words to tell her how Jordan felt. She was exuberant and passionate, joyfully unrestrained. It felt so good, she confessed, to trust someone again.

“It’s not going to be easy for both of us to sleep in this tiny bed,” Kelly noted.

Jordan’s open palm slid down the length of her back and across her buttock, halting there to let her nails bite teasingly into the flesh. She took a deep, contented breath before saying, “Then there’s no point trying to sleep.”

She rolled Kelly onto her back and straddled her, her eyes purposeful, her lean, athletic body hovering as she prepared to take her again. The blackout blinds on the windows created a dimness that colored their bodies a soft blue hue, as romantic as candlelight.

A thin smile appeared on Jordan’s lips as her gaze worked its way over Kelly’s body, leisurely taking her in. When she had had her fill of looking, she lowered herself and pressed her lips to Kelly’s neck, kissing and gently biting. As Jordan’s mouth and hands coaxed and caressed her, Kelly felt desire returning. If she wanted to make love all night long, it was okay with her. An entire night, even an entire lifetime, wouldn’t be too much of Jordan after all the years she had spent wanting her.

Sucking and biting her nipples, Jordan spread Kelly’s legs with her knees, then touched her with her fingers, lightly stroking. Kelly ran her hands across Jordan’s back, gripping her skin as she felt the light touch of Jordan’s fingers teasing her open. Her breath caught in her throat as she threw her head back on the pillow. Now two fingers, parting her more widely, finding no resistance, sliding with deliberation, up and down. Kelly’s legs opened wider and Jordan slipped inside, pushing deep, then again, deeper. Kelly closed her eyes and moaned involuntarily, tense expectancy spreading through her body.

“You’re so beautiful,” Jordan breathed, her mouth skimming over Kelly’s torso. “And so wet.” Her teeth closed lightly on the tender skin over her hip bone, then her tongue made a path of cool moisture over her belly.

With each thrust, Kelly moaned deeply, her muscles taut, fully involved with Jordan’s possession of her. The trembling waves of pleasure grew more profound and less bearable and Kelly felt she was on the verge of coming, though she had never come through penetration alone. She hung on the precipice in torment and ecstasy until the warm envelope of Jordan’s tongue encircled her throbbing clit. A deep, unbidden and ragged moan escaped her lips.

When she went over the edge at last, she went hard with a shuddering cry and a release that took her by surprise. It was bottomless and purifying.

Her breath rapid, her skin hot, Kelly laid her head back on the pillow and quietly said, “Wow.”

Jordan murmured contentedly, then released her hold and crawled up to lie face-to-face. “The second one’s always best, don’t you think?”

Kelly wrapped her arms and legs around Jordan possessively. “I think you’re astonishing.”

“Astonishing how?”

“Just not how I imagined it. In my youthful fantasies, I mean.”

“No? How did you imagine it?” Jordan kissed Kelly’s nose playfully.

“Well, mostly I imagined ways I could trick you in to it, since you so obviously weren’t willing. Like drugging your coffee. But beyond that, my fantasies didn’t go into much detail.”

“They were chaste fantasies.”

“Not exactly.” Kelly laughed. “Let’s not talk about my childish fantasies. This is so much better.”

Jordan smiled and kissed her. “I guess I made a huge mistake letting you go all those years ago.”

“No. You didn’t make a mistake. You were right. I was too immature. I was too naïve and needy. My expectations were ridiculously out of bounds regarding love. My first serious relationship was a disaster and I blame myself for most of what went wrong.”

“Then I’m lucky you’ve come back to me now. I get you at your best, when you’re ready for the real thing.”

Kelly reached for Jordan’s hand between them. “Do you believe this is the real thing?” she asked hopefully.

“I do. Do you?”

Kelly squeezed her hand. “Jordan, I never stopped loving you. As far as I’m concerned, this is and always was the real thing.”

Emotion softened Jordan’s face, then her body relaxed as it molded itself into Kelly’s. Her voice was a whisper, like a delicate, caressing breeze, as she said, “I love you too.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

It was one of those nights when the colors were perfect, the kind of night the midnight tour operators hope for, when the sun is low on the horizon, casting filtered light through a layer of thin clouds. The icebergs glowed pink and orange. Kelly hadn’t seen such a beautiful night since her arrival. She sat beside Jordan on the veranda of the Disko Hotel drinking pinot noir. Their view of the bay was classic from this vantage point. Closer in, where the hotel’s sled dogs were chained to the rocks, a puppy hopped from one dog to the next, trying to engage the indifferent adults in a game.

“I was hoping to see the northern lights,” Kelly complained.

“You’re not going to see them in summer with the sun up around the clock.”

“How late would you have to stay to see them?”

“As soon as there’s an actual night. In the fall. September. I wouldn’t mind coming back in the winter someday. I think it would be thrilling.” Jordan took a sip from her glass, looking up at the stars. “I’ve seen the northern lights in Alaska. The Inuit believed that the lights marked the entrance to the next world and that the souls of dead children danced and played there.”

“That’s a comforting idea.”

“Yes. Definitely more poignant than our modern understanding: photons released by the collision of charged particles in the magnetosphere with atoms in the thermosphere.” She lowered her gaze from the sky to smile warmly at Kelly.

“Not the same, is it?”

“No. But I think we can still look at it both ways. I think we can choose to interpret with our scientific mind or our romantic heart and experience the same sense of wonder as eons of humans did before us. I mean, look at the stars or the moon any dark night. We know what they are, but you feel awestruck anyway. It’s hard-wired into us, to look up there and dream.”

“I’m going to miss you,” Kelly said sincerely.

“Me too, but it’s only for a couple weeks. You’ll barely have time to unpack before I show up at your door back home. But I’ll miss you too. It’s been such a wonderful time.”

“To the best summer of my life,” Kelly said, lifting her glass.

“And,” Jordan proposed, “to all the best yet to come.”

They touched glasses.

“Should I leave my window open tonight?” Kelly asked.

Jordan shook her head. “Not tonight.”

“Oh,” Kelly groaned. “Our last night and there won’t be any hanky and panky?”

“Don’t worry. There will be hanky and panky, my darling. I booked a room here in the hotel. No sneaking in through windows and struggling to be silent in a squeaky little bed so your landlady won’t have a cow. Or sneaking down the hallway at two in the morning to use the bathroom.”

“Not to mention how Chuck’s turning poor Mrs. Arensen into an alcoholic helping to deflect her attention. She’s convinced he’s trying to seduce her with those nightly drinks.”

Jordan smiled. “Tonight we’ll have a comfortable suite with a private bath, a bottle of champagne and a sumptuous feast, just the two of us.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“We’re in no hurry.” She waved a hand to indicate the view. “It’ll be daylight for hours yet.”

Kelly laughed. Jordan couldn’t suppress a small snicker of her own.

“But seriously,” she said, “we have all night. I’m determined to make it special.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Every night with you has been special.”

Jordan reached over and took her hand. It was true, Kelly thought. It was like a dream and she was sorry to see it end, but they would begin a new phase back home. Not as exotic as a Greenland summer, but just as special, as long as they were together.

The door behind them flew open and Pippa burst onto the deck, her cheeks flushed.

“Hi, you guys!” she said, squeezing between their two chairs and laying one arm on each of their shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to interrupt your romantic evening, but there’s someone I want you to meet before Kelly leaves.”

“Who is it?” Kelly asked.

Pippa leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I found her.” Then she ran back through the doorway.

Kelly sat up with interest and turned her chair so she was facing the door. “I’m not entirely sure, but I think she’s about to introduce us to a woman. As in, a girlfriend-type woman.”

Jordan raised her eyebrows, clearly intrigued.

“This should be interesting,” Kelly remarked. “Cross your fingers.”

When Pippa reappeared, she led another girl by the hand. She was close to if not exactly Pippa’s age, had flaming red hair and freckles, pale skin and pretty hazel eyes. She wore loose, faded jeans, and an oversized flannel shirt. She clutched Pippa’s hand shyly and averted her eyes. Kelly couldn’t suppress a cry of joy at the sight of them, two lovely young women, flush with the happiness of their new discovery: one another.

“This is Charming,” Pippa announced. “She’s Canadian.”

“Charmian!” corrected the redhead indignantly. “You know my name is Charmian, Pippa.”

“But Charming is my name for you,” Pippa said melodramatically, “because I’ve waited so long, so very long for my Princess Charming. And now you’ve come.” She held her free hand over her heart for a moment to emphasize the effect of her words, then said, “These are my friends Kelly and Jordan.”

Kelly stood up and held out her arms to hug Charmian, who gratefully accepted. Jordan also hugged her, then invited them to sit down.

“We aren’t staying,” Pippa said. “We’re going to the fireworks.”

“Are there fireworks tonight?” Jordan asked.

“Yes. Nine o’clock.”

“How can you have fireworks with the sun up?” Kelly asked.

“Not much choice,” Pippa said matter-of-factly. “Do you want to come?”

“We have other plans,” Jordan said with a wry smile.

Pippa’s eyes widened briefly, then she turned to her girlfriend with a knowing look. Charmian giggled.

“Nice to meet you,” Charmian said as Pippa nudged her toward the door.

They watched the girls duck back inside, but in mere seconds Pippa reappeared, making no attempt to control her glee.

“What do you think?” she asked. “Isn’t she cute?”

“She’s darling!” Kelly agreed. “Where’d you find her?”

“That’s the crazy part. She was here all along. I mean, not all along. They moved here like two years ago. I saw her around but never talked to her. I didn’t know she was Canadian. I thought she was Danish. Red hair, freckles.” She spoke rapidly and breathlessly. “She’s a year behind me. The other day when I went to the library, I saw her sitting between the shelves reading a lesbian romance. In English! I recognized the cover because I’d read it too. I don’t think the librarian knows it’s a lesbian romance. Or…” She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “I’ve had my suspicions about the librarian.”

“Well,” shrugged Jordan. “A librarian. Of course!”

“Charmian was afraid to check the book out,” Pippa continued breathlessly, “so she was reading it right there in the library. It took all my nerve and my heart was pounding, but I walked right up to her and said, ‘Hi, Charmian. How’s the book?’” Pippa doubled over laughing. “She was freaking out, thinking she’d gotten caught, until I told her about me. I mean about me having read that book too. Then everything changed.”

“I’m very happy for you, Pippa,” Kelly said sincerely.

“Thanks. Me too. I’ll come by in the morning like I said to drive you and Chuck to the airport. Bye.” Pippa was gone again in a heartbeat.