Chapter Fifteen

Time To Go Home

"Very well. If you have decided you no longer require my services, I can be back in Montecito before sunrise," Kitt said comfortably. "Please do not worry, Carolyn, I will be quite safe travelling alone."

"Are you sure?" I asked, feeling a deepening sense of guilt seep through me as I stared at his little red screen.

"Quite sure," he replied readily. "It is certainly not the first time I have travelled without the pretence of a driver. But nighttime is the best cover. No one will see inside my windows."

"If you think you'll be all right…" I frowned at the screen.

He seemed so calm and matter of fact. I felt an odd sense of chagrin that he didn't put up more of a fight to stay with us. But there were more reasons for him to leave than to stay.

"Please don't worry, Carolyn." Devon shook his head at me. "Kitt will have more than enough to keep him busy back at Knight Investigations. He's an integral part of their unit."

"Of course," Kitt replied, sounding more than a little smug. "I am almost indispensable. I was simply on loan to bring Devon out here to Sedona. I do feel my work is now completed. Your reunion has been successful. I can see that."

"Then we shall say no more about your need to stay. Here…" Devon retrieved the commlink from his jacket pocket and placed it in a compartment in the dashboard. "I'll see you back in LA in two weeks," he said.

I noticed he made no mention of my returning to the city with him. I frowned at the obvious omission, but I knew he must have his reasons. I couldn't help wondering what they were, but I wasn't going to ask in front of our interested audience of one AI car.

"Thank you, Devon," Kitt replied, as both his doors swung open to let in the cold night air. "Now, if you will both, please excuse me…"

"Good night, Kitt." I shrugged as I followed Devon's lead and got out. "And thank you."

"You are welcome," Kitt replied as his doors shut behind us and his engine purred to life. His headlights came on, lancing beams of light into the inky darkness.

"Safe journey…" I touched his wing mirror in farewell.

I still felt guilty. I couldn't help it. I sighed, shaking my head. I was on the point of asking him to stay, after all.

"Please do not worry about me," Kitt reassured me as he backed up and turned toward the driveway. "I will telephone you tomorrow morning. Take good care of yourselves. Goodbye."

He accelerated smoothly down the driveway and was soon lost from view among the black trees. Then the sound of his powerful engine quickly faded into the darkness. I shivered, fancying I heard the growl of a bear or the scream of a mountain lion somewhere nearby in the dark stillness of the national park beyond the lights of the house.

"Come on, it's too cold out here and our dinner's waiting." Devon slung a warm arm around my shoulders and hugged me as he guided me back inside. "And please stop worrying…" He kissed my cold cheek.

※※※※※

I turned my head and stared into the glowing embers of the fire. The only sounds in the shadowed room were the soft crackling of burning pine sap and Carolyn's slow breathing as she lay nestled comfortably on my chest. She had been asleep there for some time and I was loathe to move her.

We'd eaten the delicious meal I'd prepared and then consumed one half of a strawberry cheesecake I found in the fridge. The accompanying two bottles of white wine had been delicious and the Irish coffees I made for us both were a fitting end to an enjoyable evening. It only lacked one final act of which we were both vitally aware.

The taut undercurrent of sensual anticipation ran beneath everything we did or said. Often our gazes tangled and held, or Carolyn would brush her fingers deliberately and possessively across some part of my body whenever I was near enough to touch. Which was often deliberate on my part, inviting her caress.

After we'd finished, we washed the dishes and put them away. Then, without anything more to distract us from the true reason we had come to this remote spot, we stood close together, holding each other in the flickering firelight as we slow-danced to the music on the radio.

Our renewed passion was slow burning and deepening in intensity with every passing minute we denied ourselves the final pleasures of the night to come. I wanted to take the time to kiss every part of her slender body and then start again from her topmost curl.

"I don't want this night to end…" She sighed against my chest.

"I can promise you, Luciana, that there will be other nights," I replied, running my lips across the pulse beating in the side of her neck. "This is only the beginning…"

"Yes…" She sighed again, cupping the back of my head in one hand as she brought my mouth around to hers. "Love me, Devon… Now, please…"

"Always…" I replied before I plundered the softness of her open lips and there was no longer any need for words.

I slid my hands down over her hips to the jean-clad glory of her softly rounded behind, lifting her high against me as I had on our first night together. She wrapped her legs around my waist and allowed me to do with her as I willed.

We never made it as far as the master bedroom. We settled instead for the luxurious bearskin rug in front of the stone hearth. The warm fire had been too inviting and beyond the double-glazed windows the blackness of the night sky had been filled with uncountable stars. It was a breathtaking view, but I only had eyes for my love and she never looked away from me as the final barrier between us was removed. Her warm skin had glowed like ivory in the firelight.

I sighed now as I drew her closer beneath the cover of the large Hudson Bay blanket, she'd carried in from one of the bedrooms when the air nipped at our shared nakedness. Beyond the windows, the inky blackness of the sky was already lightening toward dawn and somewhere in the distance an early cockerel crowed at the first signs of the new day.

"I love you…" I whispered against her hair. "I cannot think of my life without you now…"

I sighed again. I didn't want to move. I could have stayed this way forever with her so close to me and feeling comfortable enough to fall asleep against me. Her trust in me and my motives now seemed total. I prayed that I could live up to her expectations, even as my cramped body demanded I move and attend to its needs.

"Devon?" Carolyn murmured sleepily as I moved her gently to one side and rose to my knees.

She sat up beside me and her narrowed gaze moved slowly over my naked chest and thighs. I remained kneeling, allowing her to look her fill. I smiled at her and the love between us hummed with intent and expectation.

She almost appeared to be measuring my stamina. A small smile curved my mouth. "I need to go, but I will be back," I promised.

"Good…" she murmured, and I saw her shiver with renewed anticipation as I rose to my feet and walked away. "Don't be too long…"

※※※※※

I watched Devon walk away. The flex and release of the long muscles in his legs, butt and back were too tempting to ignore. I stretched lazily with the anticipation of his imminent return. I needed nothing but him.

I turned to look through the windows at the dawning light. A new day and I knew I had to make a start on the primary reason I had come to Sedona. And Devon needed to get on with his work. But that was for later. Right now, I had other things, more immediate things, on my mind…

Devon soon came back down to me, stretching out beside me like some great, glorious creature, barely tamed and here only because I willed it. I inhaled deeply as the renewed hardness of his body pressed against my thigh.

"I promised I wouldn't be long," he whispered, laying his hand on my hip, asking, not demanding and requesting, not taking. A free exchange of mutual delight. "And my lady holds my desire as a precious thing. You are so beautiful…"

He took my hand and kissed my open palm lovingly before continuing his sensual path to the pulse beating in my inner wrist. His warm tongue lathed the sure giveaway of my rising desires.

"I do love you, Devon Miles," I managed shakily. The faint warmth of the dawn was starting to kiss my bare toes. My gaze drifted downwards, and I smiled. "All of you…"

"And I love you, my beautiful Luciana. Always… I swear," he answered, understanding the lambent pleasure of a slow burning of renewed passion rising in both of us. He was both utterly sated and as eager to begin again as I was.

"It was you who made me beautiful… Do you truly know how much I love you?" I said, cupping his stubbled cheek.

He had become my lover, again. I felt I could ask any question and know his answer would be honest. He would never be less than that, again. FLAG and all its deceits and secrets were far behind us both.

"I do…" he said, pressing his hand over the top of mine. Of course, he did. The singing of the love between them told him. "And I promise you I will always treat that like the incredible gift it is. That I will treasure it as no man ever could."

He kissed my palm again, then pressed another to my forehead. "Or ever will. Whatever happens, whatever comes now, know that I have always loved you. Always…"

"Oh, Devon, I love you too. So very much…"

Morning sunlight started to brighten the room. The picture he painted brought tears to my eyes. Tears mixed with knowledge. This very different man from my ex-husband and he truly loved me. He would always love me. Through the good times, and the bad.

He made me feel beautiful, brave, strong, smart, and incredibly sexy. Despite the signs on my body that reminded me I was no longer young. I smiled through my tears. "And we might take a shower later. Much, much later…"

I reached up to kiss him long and deeply. I treasured the erotic contact of his tongue tangling with mine as a sensual silence settled in the living room beyond the pine-scented crackling of the dying fire...

※※※※※

"You want me to do what?" Carolyn laughed, obviously unsure about my suggestion as she walked away from me toward the sheer rocky drop into the valley far below.

The view from our vantage point was spectacular and perfect. I'd already framed up the shot before I called her from the Jeep. She was wary of the shadowed forest and venturing too far from the vehicle's solid protection.

"Just be yourself," I encouraged her. "Keep your eyes on me and I'll take care of the rest." I shook my head. "You have done this before."

"Says who?" She arched her brows at me saucily and poked out her tongue as she moved slowly backwards toward the cliff's dizzying edge. She did have a good head for heights, for which I was grateful.

"Minx…" I wanted to catch up to her and kiss her into submission.

But the light was fading, and it was now or never for me to take the perfect shot. I was aware it wasn't safe to be out in the forest after dark.

I raised the camera to my left eye and focussed the viewfinder on the incredible view with my love framed neatly against the magical horizon of red rocks and puffs of white snow against the clear, azure sky.

The westering sun shone through her ash blond curls, gilding them with points of light. Keeping the camera to my eye, I directed her to sit on a large rock and how to pose for me as she had several times before today. I enjoyed photographing her. The camera adored her. She did as I asked, turning her head to catch the sunlight on the side of her face. I clicked the shutter before she moved again.

I'd managed to photograph a decent portfolio of work while Carolyn had sat in her Jeep writing her outline. We were both almost done with our respective tasks.

We'd travelled many of the trails in the area by daylight and retreated to the lodge as soon as the sun went down. Our nights were spent together, rekindling the love that had never truly left either of us.

I sighed with contentment. We'd spent a blissful ten days laughing and loving in our very private hideaway. It almost felt as if the world did not exist, and any problems had been left far behind. I never wanted it to end. But, of course, it soon would. Then we had difficult decisions that needed to be made.

Of course, we both knew our time together was nearly up. And the future suddenly seemed as uncertain as the day we first met again back in LA. I knew it was on her mind too, from the questioning looks she kept giving me when she thought I wasn't looking her way.

'What are we going to do now? Where is all of this going?'

She'd already told me that day we had lunch at the Mexican market that Santa Fe was her home and despite everything that had happened in her failed marriage, she loved living there. My life was back in Montecito, looking for a house to purchase before I jetted off to London for my new exhibition. And where would I be after that?

Honestly, I had no answers, because I truly didn't know. 'Drop everything and come away with me…' hovered frequently on the tip of my tongue begging to be asked.

I shook my head slowly. We still had no answer to the confounded riddle of what happened to Schrödinger's blasted cat. The lid of the box containing the future of our love was still sealed shut.

"We should be getting back," Carolyn said finally, as she walked up to me. She pushed her arms around my waist beneath my open jacket as I lowered the camera. "It's getting dark and cold out here. And I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry…" I teased; aware she wasn't talking about food.

"For you…" She smiled as she reached up to kiss my cheek then drifted to my mouth, teasing and taunting me until I gave in to her sensual torture. The camera fell to hang by its strap over my shoulder as I gathered her up against me, plundering and savouring her soft sweetness.

After a long silence, I felt her smile against my lips and then her soft giggle filled my mouth. Her hands pushed beneath the waistband of my jeans to caress the line of my hips before tugging at the tail of my denim shirt to find the skin beneath.

"Remember, that young man back at the carpark in the hills told us to get a room," she whispered. "I do think we should take his advice. We don't have a lot of time left…"

"Yes…" I breathed against her mouth, shaking my head as I drew back slowly with real regret.

"Come on…" She slid her hand down to tangle her fingers through mine. "Race you to the car…"

※※※※※

We were laughing as we entered the lodge hand in hand, anticipating the night ahead. A delicious shiver ran through me. After a few nights spent on the huge rug in front of the fire, we'd finally made it to the master bedroom and the wide comfort of the enormous bed. I was hungry, but I needed Devon more than food. I turned into his arms the moment he shut the front door behind us.

"Come here…" I commanded, sliding my hands from his waist up to his shoulders, running my fingers into his hair and pulling his mouth down toward mine.

Our lips almost touched, and our mingled breathing accelerated with sensual anticipation… when the telephone rang. I gasped and jumped at the sudden, insistent sound while Devon swore, low and grimly.

Then something feathered up and down my spine. I just knew whoever was on the other end of the phone call was going to deliver bad news. My mind began to race with questions.

"I'll get it…" Devon released me and strode off into the kitchen to snatch the receiver from the wall mount. "Devon Miles…"

I watched him freeze as he listened intently to the voice on the other end of the line. He nodded a couple of times, his blue eyes tracking back to mine, and they clouded with regret. He shook his head as I spread my hands mutely in inquiry.

"Oh, God…" I breathed, as I lifted one hand to my open mouth.

Raw fear lanced through me. I knew from Devon's frowning expression that one of my family had been injured, or worse. My heart began to thump against the cage of my ribs as I saw him nod again and then he said, "I'll tell her right away. Thank you, Michael. Goodbye."

He returned the receiver to its mount and then turned to look at me. He walked forward to gather me into his arms and rock me gently from side to side.

"It's not good news, I'm afraid," he said. "You need to go home immediately."

"Tell me, who is it?" I asked, my agitated fingers seizing fistfuls of his denim shirt.

"It's your Maria," he replied gently. "It seems she's taken a bad fall while she was out walking and is recovering in hospital. Her son contacted Michael, and Kitt gave him our number here. It happened three days ago."

"Oh, thank God it's not worse…" I sagged against him, tears burning my eyes. "I thought there for a minute… I mean…"

"Your children are all fine as far as Michael knows," he replied. "But it seems Maria is determined to discharge herself from hospital. She will not take no for an answer. They need you back in Santa Fe to try and talk some sense into her. To make her obey her doctors."

"She wouldn't listen to me…" I laughed shakily. "No one tells Maria Flores what to do once she's made up her mind to something. But I do need to go home right away. She will be terrifying her children."

"Of course," Devon responded immediately. "I'll arrange everything here and then I'm coming with you. But we'll leave first thing in the morning. It's already late and Maria will be safe enough in the hospital. You need to rest and eat something."

"Oh…" I'd forgotten we no longer had Kitt with us. "If you want to come too."

"Most certainly I want to," he said, shaking me gently. "You won't get rid of me that easily. I've never been to Santa Fe. And I want to meet your Maria. She sounds formidable."

"She is…" His encouraging smile warmed me and lightened my deep concerns.

He was going to take care of me again, while I did my best to take care of Maria. Both were equally determined people who would not be denied their wishes. If it wasn't so serious I could almost enjoy seeing them together.

As I hurried to pack my bags, while Devon phoned the owner of the lodge, I wondered who would finally get the upper hand. There were bound to be clashes of wills between them.

※※※※※

Our journey to Santa Fe was quick and uneventful. I insisted on driving while Carolyn tried to catch up on some sleep. She didn't resist, thereby telling me how tired and stressed she was. She curled into the passenger seat and closed her eyes. I glanced at her from time to time as the miles sped by.

She'd spent a restless night and was up before dawn, agitating to leave. I didn't deny her sense of urgency even as I insisted that she eat some breakfast before we left the lodge for the final time. She settled for coffee and toast.

As the secluded place disappeared into the distance and the trees behind us, I wondered if we could recapture what we'd had there. Its remoteness had been its charm and I missed it like the very devil. Now, Carolyn would be torn between worrying about her good friend and my unexpected presence in her house.

She woke up after some hours and gave me a strained smile. I could see the tension simmering in her. The bare facts about Maria's condition that I'd been given made Carolyn restless.

"Please take me right to the hospital. I'll give you directions as soon as we get into the city," she said quietly.

"Of course…" I could see her agitation in her old habit of twisting the strap of her handbag between her fingers as she stared at the passing landscape.

I didn't comment or say anything banal. I knew she was deeply worried, and my sole duty was to deliver her safely home again and be her unquestioning support.

I could do that for her. I enjoyed looking after her, as much as she would allow me to do so.

I would give her a safe place to fall when she became too weary or upset. I crossed my fingers on the steering wheel as the outskirts of Santa Fe finally came into view and I hoped Maria's accident was not as bad as had been reported by her worried family.

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