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  Jil groaned and followed her out the doors to the outdoor path, pulling on her white plush robe as she went. The whole spa was designed in the Nordic style, with wide wooden beams and flagstone paths, waterfalls cascading freezing streams of water into the cold features, and huge, hot spring rock baths.

  Jess looked at the canvas hammocks, lined with fleece. “I want to try that,” she announced.

  “Good idea, but if we start there, I’m never getting out, so what about we start with something torturous and make our way back?”

  Jess shivered in her white terry robe. “You’re supposed to follow the arrows and alternate hot and cold. First the waterfall, then the hot tub. Then the ladle dip, whatever that is. And then the…I can’t pronounce this.”

  Jil peered over her shoulder. “No idea. It sounds like an IKEA couch. Let’s figure it out when we’re sitting in the hot springs.”

  “Deal.”

  Jess kicked off her flip-flops and plunged into the icy pool. “Gah. That’s terrible!” she gasped.

  Jil followed close behind, beating her to the waterfall that cascaded down the rock face. “Ohmygod.”

  Jess stood shivering, her skin on fire. She wasn’t sure if the cold water was making her joint pain better or just distracting her by short-circuiting her whole body. “I’m not ducking under that.” Her lower jaw shuddered violently.

  Jil disappeared under the waterfall and stuck her hand out. “Come on,” she called. Her voice was muffled by the roar.

  Jess groaned and plodded through the icy water. She grinned when she spotted a loophole. In a second, she had slipped behind the waterfall and poked Jil.

  She jumped. “Where did you come from?”

  “I went around!”

  Jess showed her the side exit and they stumbled back out the stone steps, then hurried to the hot feature.

  “I really don’t think we need to follow the suggested route here,” Jil said. Her lips were still blue.

  Jess sank down into the stone seat, hot water lapping at her shoulders. She still hadn’t stopped shivering.

  “I agree. I think walking from hot tub to hot tub will cleanse our systems enough. Or whatever it’s supposed to do.”

  Jess watched Jil dip her head back, extending her arms along the stone wall. She was still tanned, even after the brutal winter they’d had. And her fingernails badly needed a manicure.

  “What are you worrying about?” she asked.

  Jil looked up. “Nothing, why?”

  Jess picked up one of Jil’s hands. “Because you only bite your nails this badly when you’re solving a case, and since the case hasn’t started yet…”

  Jil sighed. “And it might be the last one I get for a while.”

  Jess felt a clunk at the pit of her stomach. They couldn’t both be out of work. They’d be broke as well as stir-crazy.

  “It’s Padraig. Why is he taking an extended leave now? He and his dad weren’t close. I don’t buy that he needs to take several weeks to clear out his decrepit house. He can hire someone for that if he wants to. He loves working. He needs work.”

  “Maybe he really is just trying to take care of his health,” Jess said.

  Jil shot her a look. “The man has had two pints with lunch the entire time I’ve known him. He’s never eaten a vegetable. Never taken exercise. And now he’s got a FitBit that he can barely operate. No. Something’s up.”

  Jess laid a hand on her shoulder. “Well…I suppose there’s only one thing to do.”

  Jil looked at her. “What?”

  “Ask him!”

  The teenagers from earlier were heading for the hot tub, and Jess rolled her eyes. They reminded her too much of her students.

  Luckily, Jil seemed to read her mind and was already heading for the stairs.

  As Jess took her time getting out, Jil had already read the map.

  “Come on.” Jil flashed her a smile and pointed toward a nearby building. Jess shoved her feet into her flip-flops, threw her robe around her shoulders, and followed Jil to the low building with faded red siding.

  Inside, once the door had closed, the silence was total. A dark heat filled the space, not steamy or dry like the saunas, but almost sizzling. And it was dark. For a moment, they stood by the closed door, waiting until their eyes adjusted.

  “Here, I see some lower ones,” Jil whispered.

  But Jess pulled Jil toward the ladder. “I want to go up.”

  Jess climbed up, hand over hand, to the top bunk, then slid in next to Jil on the smooth molten stone. The heat was penetrating, stopping just shy of scorching her bare back.

  On the other side of the room, a snore sounded over the spa music that issued from the hidden speakers—waterfalls and harps.

  Jess giggled. Someone had obviously fallen asleep on one of the hotbeds below. As her eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness, she peered around the bottom beds.

  The place was nearly empty.

  Except for the snoring guy in the corner.

  Jess tapped her shoulder and Jil turned around. Jess leaned over, cupping the back of her head as she pulled her in for a kiss. It was a bit of a tight squeeze for two, but Jil fit herself snugly into Jess’s arms and surrendered to the insistent pressure of Jess’s tongue on hers, the way her hair, still damp from their dip in the hot tub, brushed against Jess’s neck.

  She fisted her hand at Jil’s hair, bit her lip gently—not enough to draw blood, but enough that Jil growled into her collarbone.

  “Keep that up and we’re not going to make it home.”

  Jess kissed her way up Jil’s neck to her ear, where she whispered, “Yeah, we’re not going to make it home.”

  Jess brushed her thumb along Jil’s cheekbone as she kissed her deeply, the way Jil liked to tongue fuck. They kissed the way they talked—with a quick and easy rhythm, pulling back and searching, drawing each other out.

  Jil pulled away a little. “We have to stop. I’m seriously going to have to come.”

  Jess squeezed her breast. “So come.”

  “Here? Honestly? What if—”

  “I don’t care.”

  The song on the spa music changed—this one including bells or chimes, or something. It didn’t matter what, because it was slightly louder than the previous track and muffled the sound of Jil’s moan when Jess reached behind her and undid her bikini top.

  Jil’s breast arched right into Jess’s mouth, and Jess closed her lips gently over the nipple.

  She wasn’t playing fair and she knew it, but something about the way Jil’s body undulated like a piece of music when she was aroused made Jess want to play her. She was an instrument of legs and arms, and one hot, sweet center. Not unlike her cello.

  She ran her fingers down Jil’s skin, raking nails gently down her back, across her stomach.

  “God,” Jil whispered when Jess made contact with her bikini bottom. “I can’t be quiet, Jess.”

  Jess sealed her mouth over Jil’s and kissed her hard, dragging her nails down over the wet bathing suit, across Jil’s hard clit that pulsed under the swatch of Lycra.

  Jil moaned into Jess’s mouth. A long, breathy sigh with a harder edge of need.

  Jess knew that noise. Knew when Jil was hitting the brink of orgasm.

  “Fuck.”

  At the sound of the voice from below, they both froze. The snoring man jumped up from his hot bed and stormed out, the door banging behind him.

  Jess giggled. “What the hell was that about?”

  Jil moved her hips so Jess’s fingers were snugly against her clit.

  “I guess he didn’t mean to fall asleep.” Her voice was edgy, tense.

  Jess knew why. Her own body was ablaze, every single nerve on end and heated by the lava bed and Jil’s breasts pressed against her body.

  She pulled Jil’s bikini bottom down and helped her work it free, then wiggled back up beside her and worked her fingers in slow circles against Jil’s clit. Jil moaned out loud.

  If anyone happened to
come in right now, they’d be in for a show, but Jess didn’t care, and she doubted Jil did either at this moment.

  She nudged Jil’s legs open with her knee, and Jil obliged, ready for Jess’s fingers that curled into her, homing in on her G-spot as she maintained a steady rhythm on her clit with her thumb.

  Jil arched back and squeezed around Jess’s fingers, urging her to go deeper.

  Jess pulled out slowly and pushed back in firmly until Jil came, a strangled moaning against Jess’s shoulder.

  Chapter Three

  Saturday morning, Jil woke up to a cold, steady drizzle against the loft window. She rolled over and smacked her alarm clock then rolled back and noticed the empty bed.

  The smell of coffee alerted her to where Jess might have gone.

  She turned on her phone and waited for the messages to load. The first one, predictably, was from Padraig, giving her a meter-long list of last-minute instructions.

  “Have you seen Blackfish? Maybe you should start with that. If you’re not squeamish.”

  She rolled her eyes. She’d been watching it last night, scrutinizing all the details of whales that killed their trainers. In some of the conditions, she couldn’t say she blamed the creatures. And maybe, for once, the surface story that someone gave her would turn out to be the actual truth. She’d arrive on St. Emeline, find out that a whale had indeed gone justifiably murderous, and say toodle–oo to the case, leaving her and Jess free to enjoy the beach for the rest of the trip.

  But her gut feeling was that something didn’t add up. Jess arrived, bearing coffee, and she reached out with both hands.

  “Life.”

  “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s a note in the mail.”

  Jil took the envelope from her and ripped it open.

  …hereby give notice that the unit will be up for sale in two months’ time.

  Her stomach lurched.

  “Oh my God.”

  “What?”

  “It’s a notice from the owners. They’re selling the loft.”

  Jess sat down on the edge of the bed. “When?”

  “Two months’ notice.”

  Jess squeezed her hand, the breath whooshing out of her. “Wow.”

  Jil threw back the covers and got out of bed.

  “I guess I’ll be adding house-hunting to my post-vacay to-do list. Jesus.”

  She stalked across the room and slammed the bathroom door.

  * * *

  “Got everything?” Jil swung her suitcase over the couch and stacked it in the front hall.

  Zeus whined and stomped at the door.

  “Just this left.” Jess began to drag her wheeled suitcase down the stairs, but Jil sprinted up and grabbed it from her. “I’ve got it.”

  Jess let it go and sighed, then pulled her purse over one shoulder and snagged her coat from the top banister.

  “I can hear your thoughts. Don’t even go there,” Jil said. She slapped Jess’s suitcase down beside hers and reached for the car keys.

  Jess bent slowly to pick up Zeus’s leash from the basket by the door. She straightened up, wincing, and Jil stopped where she was, fixing her with a look.

  “You have a doctor’s appointment as soon as we get back, right?”

  “Yeah.” Jess took a breath in, smiling wanly. “Stop worrying.”

  “I’m going to worry.”

  “Seems like a lot of effort, considering that there’s nothing that can be done. You’re sure you want to love a woman with a chronic debilitating disease?”

  “Fuck that shit,” Jil said. “You’re too young to be crippled.” She kissed Jess lightly on the forehead.

  “Don’t I know it.”

  “One day at a time. Today, we take a vacation.”

  “I can’t even remember the last time I had a vacation,” Jess said. “The plane ride’s going to be interesting.”

  “I got you an aisle seat, don’t worry. Booked it this morning.”

  Jess grabbed her arm and kissed her—impulsively, deeply. “I love you,” she said when she pulled away.

  Jil stopped and looked back at her, then hugged her tight. “Likewise,” she whispered into her hair. “I adore you. I just want to get there so I can lay you down on some hot sand and…”

  Jess laughed and pressed her hand up Jil’s shirt into the bare small of her back. “Tell me on the plane,” she said.

  Jil kissed her again and headed for the door.

  “What time’s the dog sitter coming for Zeus?”

  “He said he’d be here at four.”

  Jess checked her watch. “It’s four thirty now.”

  Jil rolled her eyes. “Well, I guess he’s on his way. Either that or Zeus will be coming with us to St. Emeline.”

  Jess laughed. “I think he’s over the weight restriction.”

  “Yeah, by about fifty percent.”

  “He is getting rather large,” Jess said. “Even for a Dane.”

  “His chest.” Jil scratched the patch of white below Zeus’s collar and he leaned into her. “It’s like the broad side of a barn.”

  Jess laughed. “Next time get a Chihuahua. At least those are allowed in a carry-on.”

  Zeus looked at her.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. You know we wouldn’t trade you for fifteen rat dogs. And you’re going to have a great time.” Jess scratched behind his ears and clipped the leash on him. “Let’s go.”

  In another hour, Zeus had left, they had thrown their bags in the car, and they were in gridlock traffic, heading for the airport.

  “Fucking rush hour’s getting worse by the day,” Jil said. She inched up half a centimeter as the car ahead of her crawled forward.

  Two right-hand lanes closed. Expect delays.

  “I think we’re going to miss the flight,” Jess said mildly.

  “And that’s why we’re leaving tonight and not tomorrow morning. There are a thousand flights from here to Toronto, but only one out to St. Emeline tomorrow.”

  “Is it that remote?”

  “I think it’s just the off-season thing,” Jil said. “There are only two airlines who fly in and out from Canada. One on a Friday, one on a Sunday.”

  “I’m glad not to have two flights in the same day anyway.”

  Jil looked over at her. She was pale still, her hands balled into fists, whether or not she realized it. The stress line between her eyes was getting deeper, and she clenched her teeth in her sleep. If anyone needed a vacation from this past year, it was Jess.

  Maybe the distance would help her to make some of the decisions that had been weighing on her mind so heavily these past few months. Whether to give up her principalship and start a new career. To finally pursue a divorce. To sell the house she’d shared with Mitch before his accident. To start living the life she deserved, shucking the guilt that sat on her like a lead blanket in the heat of summer.

  Every day.

  The crawling traffic slowed even further until everyone seemed to be at a dead stop.

  The sign above changed to read Accident ahead. Expect delays.

  Jess shifted in her seat, then pulled the lever to recline a little. “Sorry to abandon you,” she said. “I’m getting a little stiff sitting here.”

  Realizing they hadn’t actually moved in the past five minutes, Jil put the car into park and shut off the engine.

  “Maybe we should call the airline.”

  Jess pulled out her cell phone and dialed, then punched through the automated system and waited.

  Jil tapped the steering wheel and looked over at Jess. Her shirt had ridden up just enough to show a thin line of midriff. She traced a finger across Jess’s stomach, ending on her opposite hip.

  Jess shot her a look and pushed a tongue into her cheek, then turned her attention back to her conversation, purposely avoiding Jil’s eyes.

  “Yes, hello. We’re on the six eighteen flight from Rockford to Toronto and we’re stuck in traffic. We’re not going to make it, unfortunately. We’d like a l
ater flight, please. Yes, I’ll hold.”

  Jil kept one eye on the traffic—not moving—and stole a glance at Jess as she flicked open the button on her low-rise jeans.

  “Jillienne Kidd and Jessica Blake,” Jess said, eyeing Jil warily.

  Jil lowered Jess’s zipper.

  Jess stared at her and shook her head, mouthing don’t you dare.

  “You needed a stretch you said.”

  Jil nudged her leg and Jess relented. Slowly, she reclined the chair even farther, biting her lower lip.

  Jil popped open Jess’s seat belt and glanced once again at the gridlock traffic. They’d be lucky if they moved half a kilometer in the next hour.

  “Yes, we’ll take the seven thirty.”

  Deciding to put their tinted windows to the test, Jil leaned over and slid one hand inside Jess’s jeans. With a short lift of her hips, Jess parted her legs to let her in. Jil pushed past her panties, noting the gorgeous navy blue lace.

  “Well, we’d prefer to sit together if possible. If not, we’ll take two singles.”

  Jess arched back into the headrest, her hips pressing into the seat as Jil began flicking lightly.

  “Thank you,” she said, struggling to keep her voice steady. “Yes, I’ll hold.”

  “You might want to put that on mute,” Jil suggested.

  Jess shot her a look, but muted her phone and put it on speaker so the elevator music played out into the car as Jil continued to touch her, spreading her hot juices over her hardening clit.

  “I don’t think we’re having enough sex,” Jil mused.

  “No?” Jess managed breathlessly. “Because you can get me off in less than thirty seconds?”

  “Well, that might be all we have.”

  “I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

  Jess moaned as Jil hit the side of her clit, drawing out her pleasure zone into an ever-widening circle. “I’m just going to close my eyes and think of you at the spa.”

  Jil grinned and ran her finger up one side and down the other while Jess cursed under her breath.

  It wouldn’t even take thirty seconds, Jil realized, as Jess’s clit began to throb under her finger. She circled around and Jess closed her eyes, moaning.